Beach Cleanup

“How long do you think it would take this plastic water bottle to break down?” Veronica Moran, Channelkeeper ‘s all-star program assistant, asks a group of cleanup volunteers.

“Forty years!” a young woman exclaims. “One hundred!” another responds.

“Good guesses! Actually, it’s more like 400 years,” Moran explains, “and these items are never really gone, they just break down into smaller and smaller pieces of plastic. That’s why the work you’re doing to remove trash from the beach is so important!”

Channelkeeper’s Watershed Brigade organizes hosted cleanups for school groups, companies, churches, and organizations. During these events, participants clear a stretch of beach of trash, removing items like cigarette butts, plastic lids, food wrappers, and cans. Once they have cleaned up the area, they weigh the trash they have collected and play the game “How Long Until It’s Gone?” which involves guessing the lifespan of the items they have found.

At hosted cleanups, participants also learn about the land-sea connection and the importance of removing trash from areas throughout the watershed to prevent debris from flowing down stormdrains, creeks, and rivers and into the ocean.

To demonstrate this connection, Moran relates the story of the Ojai Rubbish trash can that Channelkeeper staff removed from Santa Cruz Island last year, after powerful winter storms sent debris down the Ventura River and into the Santa Barbara Channel. Debris like this trash can, she explains, ended up on remote beaches of the Channel Islands, underscoring the importance of trash cleanups on the mainland.

This year, the Watershed Brigade has led eleven hosted cleanups, including the Santa Barbara School of Squash, the Turner Foundation, Camp Towanka, and the National Association of Federal Equity Receivers.

The Watershed Brigade’s hosted events are a positive and productive way for groups to work collaboratively to benefit the environment while also learning about the wonders of the Santa Barbara Channel.

To join the Watershed Brigade, click here or follow us on Instagram (@Watershedbrigade).

Help Keep Trash Out of the Santa Barbara Channel

Every time it rains, stormwater enters the City of Santa Barbara’s storm drain system and flows untreated to the ocean. On its way, this water picks up trash and debris that litters our streets and sidewalks. A lot of this trash ultimately ends up on our beaches. Wildlife can ingest and/or become entangled in plastic and other pieces of trash. Stormwater is a major source of pollution for our creeks, wetlands, and ocean.

Cleaning up the mess and keeping trash out of the ocean is a massive job that calls for the Watershed Brigade! This litter-fighting group of Channelkeeper volunteers acts as the last line of defense by heading out in groups or on their own to remove trash from city streets, trails, parks, and beaches before it can be swept into the ocean. Volunteers clean up trash higher in the watershed prior to forecasted rain events to prevent trash from entering storm drains and along the coast after storms.

Interested in conducting a Watershed Brigade storm response cleanup? Before you head out, take a look at our cleanup safety guidelines. Important storm-related guidelines include checking the local weather forecast and tide levels; wearing protective clothing, shoes, and gloves; and remembering to put your personal safety first. High tides, waves, outflows, and currents can be dangerous during and after storms. To minimize potential health risks, Santa Barbara County Environmental Health Services recommends that people do not swim, play, or surf in the ocean and creeks for at least three days (72 hours) following a significant rainfall event.

Channelkeeper has trash grabbers, bags, gloves, and buckets that volunteers are welcome to borrow and use. We’re grateful for your help to remove trash and debris from our coastline.

In an effort to stop the flow of pollution into our local waterways and prevent the need for future storm response cleanups, Channelkeeper also continuously advocates for upstream solutions. We have worked along with partner organizations to convince municipalities across our region to adopt ordinances that ban the distribution of plastic grocery bags, Styrofoam takeout containers, and plastic straws, stirrers, and cutlery. In addition, we work to educate the community about the impacts of single-use plastics on our oceans, wildlife, and human health. Channelkeeper also supports an initiative spearheaded by Abblitt’s Fine Cleaners to recycle film plastic.

To join the Watershed Brigade, visit our webpage, join our Facebook Group, or follow us on Instagram (@Watershedbrigade).

Watershed Brigade Hosted Cleanups Inspire Awareness and Action

Storm Response Cleanup