Heal the Bay

Heal the Bay is an environmental group based in Santa Monica. When I was a student at UCLA, we didn't swim in the bay, though it looked inviting. It was frequently closed for raw sewage spills and so we played volleyball instead of going in the water. For swimming, I go to Emerald Bay or Diver's Cove. In the last few years I have been big into kayaking, which is a wonderful way to enjoy the marine environment.

Living in Laguna, the beach and the ocean are always there for us; we are lucky to be able to walk to the coves near our house; this is Bird Rock, where the seagulls and pelicans sit during the day; at low tide you can walk out to it, but be careful of the marine environment as you go, please:
Next to Bird Rock is Main Beach; the big white building is Hotel Laguna:
I always look forward to HtB's beach report cards on beaches up and down the coast. They do a very comprehensive annual report. Unfortunately we have some of the state's cleanest (Laguna) and dirtiest (Doheney) beaches here in Orange County. It makes you very aware of the responsibility we all have; a simple way to start is to not throw trash into the street, and be conscious of what runs down the storm drain. Cigarette butts in the ocean and on the beach are so bad! Plastic bags and plastic debris, cigarette butts etc also come down the storm drains from miles inland, and end up on the beach and in the water; I've never taken my camera out on the kayak, but I should; you pass pretty kelp fields then there will be some piece of trash in the middle of it.

Heal the Bay was founded by Mark Gold 25 years ago; last night they hosted their annual dinner party and auction, Back to the Beach. It was $500 for a ticket, so not in my budget this year, but I did donate some great merchandise for the auction. I see Julia Louis-Dreyfus at Palisades every week, and since she is very involved in Heal the Bay, I told her I would donate generously to their event. Thank you to John Sieber for coming to pick the baskets up at the market! I hope everyone had a great evening last night! Congratulations on 25 years!