Heal the Bay

💪🌊 Celebrate and fight pollution this Saturday, July 20 at Will Rogers State Beach! Register now ➡️ https://healthebay.org/event/july-2024-nothin-but-sand-beach-cleanup-to-celebrate-plasticfreejuly/

We are excited to partner with ĀZLEE for this clean-up. ĀZLEE incorporates carefully sourced materials and innovative practices to reduce its environmental impact, redefining luxury to include a kinder, more thoughtful approach towards nature and a focus on timeless quality. Each piece is crafted in recycled 18k gold in Los Angeles. Since ĀZLEE’S inception, a portion of each sale has been donated to an ocean-related cause.

Wondering who’s behind Heal The Bay’s ? Meet our Stream Team, a group of passionate students who monitor, analyze, and report on the water quality across LA County’s rivers.

As Heal the Bay marks its 40th anniversary, please consider contributing $40 to sustain this vital initiative. Your support empowers environmental advocates and leaders to safeguard our oceans and watersheds, ensuring a sustainable future for generations to come.

🌊 Make your impact at healthebay.org/donate

Caught up on the ? Now it’s time to uncover the health of LA’s freshwater recreation sites. The ocean’s health is directly impacted by health of the inland waterways that feed it. Our River Report Card reveals which spots are perfect for a day of swimming, kayaking, or fishing — and which should be avoided. Read the full report on HealtheBay.org

The 34th Annual Heal the Bay Beach Report Card is here. This crucial public health assessment evaluates water quality at over 700 beaches from Tijuana to Washington. Your health matters, and we’re committed to providing the information you need for safe beach outings. Discover the truth about your local beaches only at HealtheBay.org.

Get ready to uncover the truth about your favorite beaches. Heal the Bay is unveiling its 34th annual Beach Report Card, the West Coast’s most comprehensive water quality data analysis. Plus, don’t miss The River Report Card, the only public health resource of its kind. This Wednesday July 17th, find out if your go-to beach is on the honor roll, or flunking out. Exclusively on HealtheBay.org.

🌊 Ready to make a splash? Don’t miss Volunteer Orientation this Thursday, July 11 @ 6:30 PM at Heal the Bay Aquarium. Connect with fellow ocean enthusiasts, boost your advocacy skills, and unlock exciting volunteer opportunities with Heal the Bay. Registration in comments 👇

Scientist and journalist Jennifer Adler () recently visited to meet the rare sunflower sea star in our touch tank. Once abundant in California’s kelp forests, this species is now functionally extinct.

Head to the comments to read about Adler’s fascinating exploration of this tiny creature’s significant impact on the environment.

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Do you know where LA’s water comes from? 💧A third is imported from Owens Valley, known to the Paiute as Payahuunadü, “Land of Flowing Water.” The LA Aqueduct diverted water to LA during rapid urbanization in the late 1800s and early 1900s, leaving lasting impacts on people and the environment. Follow Heal the Bay’s journey with Walking Water Collective to uncover LA’s complex water legacy.

Learn more and explore resources: https://healthebay.org/exploring-las-water-legacy-in-the-owens-valley/

☀️🎡 With Fourth of July Weekend happening during a heatwave, a trip to the beach may seem like a no-brainer. But many of your favorite SoCal beaches are contaminated with dangerous levels of bacteria. 🦠 ⚠️ Find out which beaches to avoid at beachreportcard.org or with the Beach Report Card App.

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This , team up with Heal the Bay in the fight against plastic pollution! 🌎 Take the pledge to and discover how to advocate for cleaner oceans and waterways. Stay tuned all month for tips, events, and updates on our journey to a planet free of single-use plastic! 💙 https://healthebay.org/events/

Heal the Bay recently spent the day at California’s state Capitol lobbying for ocean protections and advocating for positive change. Our scientists and outreach experts walked the halls with activists from across the state meeting with members of the legislature and their staff, pushing hard for bills that reduce plastic pollution, combat climate change, and allow equitable access for all to our coastline. Learn about how Heal the Bay advocates for ocean protection, and what you can do to make your voice heard.

Read here 👉 https://healthebay.org/making-waves-at-the-capitol/

Whether you’re swimming, surfing, or soaking up the sun, stay safe this summer with Heal the Bay’s Beach Report Card with NowCast! 🏖️🏄‍♀️ For the tenth straight summer, we’re providing highly accurate daily water quality predictions for West Coast beaches, with grades updated every Friday. A day at the beach should not make you sick. 👉 Click here link in our bio to learn about our water quality monitoring at your favorite beach: https://healthebay.org/stay-informed-daily-beach-water-quality-predictions-now-available-online/

📸: Surfers’ Beach, San Mateo (Visit Half Moon Bay)

Calling all animal lovers!
If you know of any youth (ages 14-26) who can make it, please register here:

Los Angeles Zoo Youth Conservation Symposium Raising Our Voices: Amplifying Teen Voices for a Just & Sustainable Los Angeles.

Are you a natural leader? Ready to help remove thousands of pounds of trash from our waterways? 🌊✨ Attend one of our upcoming Site Captain trainings and lead your own Heal the Bay crew on Coastal Cleanup Day 2024!

Coastal Cleanup Day is the biggest environmental action day of the year, inspiring millions of volunteers worldwide. In LA County, Heal the Bay coordinates cleanup efforts across over 50 sites, from coastal to inland, dive to kayak. This year, on September 21, 2024, we celebrate 35 years of this amazing event and expect over 7,000 volunteers! 🌎

We can’t do it without our dedicated site captains! Our first training is this Thursday, June 27. Head to the link in the commments to learn more and register.

Get outside this Saturday for an extra special eDNA Sampling Community Science event! 🌊✨ Join Heal the Bay and UCLA for our monthly water testing in beautiful Marine Protected Areas. This June, we’re teaming up with the for their annual bioblitz to document California’s incredible coastal biodiversity! 🌿🐠

Using the iNaturalist app, we’ll record as many observations of plants, animals, and seaweeds as possible along the California Coast. Don’t miss this day of fun, sun, and science! ☀️🔬 Registration link in comments

We are thrilled to share that was voted Santa Monica’s MOST LOVED Sustainable/Green Business! 🌊💚 We are honored to have the support of the thousands of Santa Monica locals who voted for us. Thank you for making us a key part of our community’s sustainability efforts!

Nature is q***r, but what does that mean exactly? Q***r ecology is all about breaking down rigid, binary, and conformist notions of nature to explore the complexity and fluidity in both humans and non-human species. There are many elements of nature that do not fit into our Western cultural expectations of reproduction, sexuality, or gender presentation. In fact, the ocean is teaming with animals that challenge the binary. Visit Heal the Bay Aquarium all month long to explore the diversity of nature’s q***rness.

Join us on this in the global fight against climate change and its impact on our oceans. Here’s how you can get involved with Heal the Bay:
🔍 Participate in community science: Help monitor Marine Protected Areas at our eDNA sampling event in Malibu on June 22 & 29.
🚯 Keep our oceans clean: Join our June beach cleanups at Dockweiler Beach on June 15 to prevent harmful trash from entering the ocean.
💰 Support our work: Donate to Heal the Bay and help protect our coastal waters through science, education, and advocacy.

Together, we can strive for a healthy, equitable, and safe future for our oceans and planet. 🌊🌎

🌈✨ Get ready for the most fabulous beach clean-up of the year! 🏖️ Celebrate diversity on the sand on Saturday, June 15th, at Dockweiler Beach. We’ll be joined by special guests and .club for an unforgettable day of impact. All ocean lovers are welcome💙Registration link in bio

You asked, we answered. Separate sewage spill fact from fiction in our newest blog from the Heal the Bay Science team.

Read here: https://healthebay.org/the-raw-truth-the-real-deal-about-sewage-spills/

Summer sampling results are in for the San Gabriel Mountains and LA Recreational Zones 🏞️ These sites have earned A+ grades, making them safe for your summer adventures 🚣‍♀️ However, Bull Creek stands out with an E. coli exceedance, receiving an F grade. For detailed results and more info, check out the River Report Card: healthebay.org/riverreportcard

🌊 TOMORROW 🌊 Join , Heal the Bay, , , and as we unite to celebrate Nick Gabaldón Day on June 1, 2024! Nick fearlessly pursued his passion for surfing, paving the way for countless others. This event serves as a celebration of diversity in surfing and an opportunity for the community to come together, share stories, and ride the waves in his honor. Let’s celebrate his legacy of resilience, determination, and love for the waves. Together, let’s keep his spirit alive! 🏄‍♀️

under the Santa Monica Pier will be free for all visitors in honor of Nick on Saturday, June 1st so bring your friends and family out to enjoy. A celebrity guest reader will pop in for story time and special art activities will be offered, as well as screenings of documentaries exploring issues of race, coastal access, and following your passion against all odds.

Learn more here: https://healthebay.org/event/nick-gabaldon-day/

Hey local artists! 🧑‍🎨 👋 We’re pleased to announce that we are EXTENDING the deadline for our 2024 Coastal Clean Up Day artist contest! You now have until JUNE 14 to enter for your chance to win $1,000 and have your artwork featured as the official 2024 Heal the Bay Coastal Cleanup Day Poster! 🏆

How to enter: Submit a small portfolio of your art and share your vision for our cleanup theme “Reusable is Beautiful.” Whether it’s a sketch, description, or video, let your creativity flow!

Head to the comments to learn more and enter 🐟💙

📣 Let’s talk about storm drains. Storm drains are not trash receptacles. What is dumped onto the street flows directly into our oceans and beaches. 🚫 It doesn’t matter what it is- paint, oil, chemicals, or even non-toxic substances. Dumping of any kind poses harm to our oceans and waterways.

Heal the Bay educates LA communities, to protect our coastline and make our waterways safe and healthy for everyone.

Discover how you can help us expand our impact 👉 https://healthebay.org/take-part/

Heal the Bay’s Meredith McCarthy alongside U.S. Navy Sailors at Venice Beach, California, for Los Angeles Fleet Week! 🌊 LAFW brings together the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard to meet the community and participate in service events. (📸: Cpl. Bruin Largent)

Big shoutout to our 240 amazing volunteers who crushed it by removing 2230 pounds of trash from the San Gabriel River! Inland clean ups are crucial to keeping our waterways safe and clean by preventing pollutants from reaching the ocean. Huge thanks to Supervisor Hilda Solis for recognizing our efforts with a seal of appreciation! 🏅

Thank you to our partners: , , and

And thank you to and for their support, along with Temple Station Mounted Posse 🐴

We are blown away by this year's incredible Bring Back the Beach Gala! A huge thank you to everyone who joined us and to our amazing sponsors whose support helps us defend our waterways, take on plastic polluters, and champion our oceans against climate change.

Click here to see all the pics from this stunning night: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBrgae

⚠️Urgent Water Quality Update ⚠️ Reposted with amended information ⬇️

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has issued an ocean water closure for the following area due to the release of approximately 14,400 gallons of untreated sewage:

· Dockweiler State Beach from Ballona Creek to one mile South

· Venice Beach from Ballona Creek to one mile North.

Public Health officials are advising residents or visitors planning to visit Los Angeles County beaches to avoid contact with ocean water and wet sand in the areas noted above. The sewage discharge began on May 8th and was stopped at 12:09 p.m. on May 9th, resulting in an estimated 14,400 gallons of sewage entering Ballona Creek.

Heal the Bay is dismayed to learn of another sewage spill affecting highly trafficked beaches in LA County. In 2022-2023 BRC report, we reported that 330,396 gallons of sewage were spilled that year in LA county. Stay tuned for our annual Beach Report Card coming this July.

Visit ph.lacounty.gov and beachreportcard.org for the latest on beach closures.

Throwback to last year's unforgettable Gala! 😍 Get ready to dance the night away and win incredible giveaways at our annual Bring Back the Beach Gala on May 16! Time is running out- secure your tickets now or join us as a sponsor to champion Heal the Bay's vital mission of preserving and protecting our coastline and waterways.

Click here for all the details about this year's Gala! 💃👇

https://healthebay.org/event/join-us-at-the-bring-back-the-beach-gala-2024/