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| Santa Cruz, California https://saveourshores.org/ |
History
Save our Shores was formed as a grassroots movement in 1978 in response to offshore oil drilling. It was officially incorporated as nonprofit in 1980. Throughout the 80s, they advocated for local ordinances to prevent offshore drilling, organized coastal cleanup days, co-founded and chaired the Conservation Working Group to advocate for ecological marine boundaries in the Monterey Bay Sanctuary. Since then, they have collaborated and created many conservation programs throughout the county.
Current Activities
The organization believes in three core principles: clean shores, healthy habitats and living waters. They develop individual management plans for 10 different high-need beaches that include plans to address location-specific issues that are affecting the coast. Public-private partnerships are built to maximize stakeholder involvement. They have relationships with school districts to incorporate marine education in k-12 schools. They also place a value on bilingual efforts in an effort to reach as many community members as possible. Another impressive thing they do is identify brands that are commonly found littered to work with those companies to improve packaging.
Annual Coastal Cleanup
The annual coastal cleanup is happening this year on September 21st. There are also other smaller cleanups throughout the year. Volunteers carry a 'data card' with them to record what is found. People can attend the scheduled cleanup days or even organize their own with friends or their workplace.
Paddle cleanups are also a popular choice. Volunteers can work with the organization to cleanup and help restore coastal areas while enjoying time in a kayak.
Waves and Wildlife Photo Competitions
The organization also holds photo competitions to raise awareness of protected marine areas in the Monterey Bay.
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| 1st place winner of 2018. Harbor Seal at Point Loboshttps://saveourshores.org/wavesandwildlife/ |
Plastic Pollution Campaign
The goal of this campaign is to raise awareness of plastic and micro plastic pollution in oceans, their sources, and how we can stop them.
The "Sinister Six" list includes: single-use toiletries, microfibers, single-use water bottles, contact lenses, balloons, and single-use coffee pods.
Photos from their campaign. https://saveourshores.org/plasticpollution/
Educational Programs
Education in k-12 schools is a big priority of the organization. They provide classroom programs and field trips for students to better understand the importance of coastal conservation.
Their calendar is consistently packed with activities:
The Future
Save our Shores will continue with its community outreach programs and activities to promote coastal conservation and more environmentally friendly individual and business practices.
Below is a video for their 2025 vision:
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