SIMA Environmental Fund Grants at Work in 2018
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SIMA Environmental Fund 2017 Year End Reports SIMA Environmental Fund 27831 La Paz Road Laguna Niguel, CA 92677 Phone: 949.366.1164 Fax: 949.454.1406 www.sima.com 2017 YEAR END REPORTS 5 Gyres Institute Assateague Coastal Trust Clean Ocean Action Environmental Defense Center Heal the Bay North Shore Community Land Trust Ocean Institute Orange County Coastkeeper Paso Pacifico Reef Check Foundation San Diego Coast Keeper Santa Barbara Channelkeeper Save the Waves Coalition Seymour Marine Discovery Center Surfers Against Sewage Surfing Education Association Surfrider Foundation Wildcoast Wishtoyo Foundation 2017 YEAR END REPORT The 5 Gyres Institute 2017 SIMA ENVIRONMENTAL FUND YEAR END REPORT Organization: The 5 Gyres Institute Contact Person: Haley Haggerstone Title: Development & Partnerships Director Purpose of Grant: Goal was to support the expansion of the program and transition from AmbassadorShip to the Ambassador Program. Briefly describe the specific purpose and goal for your 2017 SIMA Environmental Fund grant. Specifically, funds were requested to expand the program into more communities, create more resources in different languages, and provide additional training in order to increase the impact of our Ambassadors on reducing plastic pollution globally. To what degree were these goals and objectives achieved? If not fully met, what factors affected the success of the project? In 2017 the Ambassador program expanded into more communities and doubled in amount of Ambassadors globally. We also developed more resources, one that drastically facilitated a better connection between Ambassadors was the Ambassador Google map. Here, Ambassadors could get other Ambassador profile handles, helping locate and network with other people who may be close by We did not produce materials in other languages as we had hope, however in 2019 this will change. In 2018 we hired an Education & Outreach Manager of Hispanic background. She is very excited to manage, develop and translate our existing materials for Ambassadors (and on our website as well) into Spanish. What has been the measurable impact of your 2017 SIMA Environmental Fund grant on the population or area you serve? We serve a global population. In 2017, we grew from 160 Ambassadors to 444 Ambassadors in 37 US states and 53 countries. We tracked this based on the number of sign-ups and by maintaining relationships with them through our Ambassador newsletter and private Facebook group. More locally in 2017, our organization launched the #FoamFree campaign in California which stemmed off the success of the #BeadFree microbead campaign from 2013 to 2016. Here, we concentrated our efforts on promoting the ban of polystyrene in Los Angeles and California. Our Ambassadors were engaged and were encouraged to promote the hashtag #Foamfree. In April 2017, with support from a coalition that included 5 Gyres, Culver City became the 100th municipality in California to ban polystyrene. We also supported SB 705, the Ocean Pollution Reduction Act of 2017, which would have banned polystyrene products statewide. Unfortunately, SB 705 did not pass this but our efforts on this continued on into 2018 and in January we held an activist training where 100 people attended - majority of them being local Ambassadors. What have been the measurable results to date of this grant on the functioning or effectiveness of your organization? (i.e. enhanced operations, increased capacity, etc.) This year’s grant contributed to costs of program materials (the Ambassador Google map and online resource page) as well as covered shipping costs for our Education Toolkits sent out to early Ambassador signups. We also set up a resource page for Ambassadors to access: https://www.5gyres.org/ambassador-resources/ We measured the use and growth of the hashtag #5GyresAmbassador, which had an average a reach of 100,000/month. Now ending 2018, we have begun a webinar series for our Ambassador training/networking and will continue to roll these out along with Spanish materials in the new year. We hosted our first in-person Ambassador training this summer in Los Angeles. In 2019, we are also developing an Influencer Program specifically to engage our Ambassadors with 1,000-10,000 following. We have some local projects lined up for 2019 in Los Angeles and plan to have more in-person activities for our Ambassadors. 2017 YEAR END REPORT Assateague Coastal Trust 2017 SIMA ENVIRONMENTAL FUND YEAR END REPORT Organization: Assateague Coastal Trust Contact Person: Kathy Phillips Title: Executive Director/Assateague COASTKEEPER Purpose of Grant: SIMA grant funds were used to support the general operations of the Assateague Coastkeeper and Coast Kids programs. Coastkeeper activities included watershed patrolling, water quality monitoring, beach cleanups and advocacy on priority water quality protection issues with particular attention to the campaign to oppose the proposed federal government plan to open the mid- and south Atlantic to offshore oil and gas exploration and drilling. Coast Kids activities featured monthly educational excursions, school/community group programs and summer camp, including support for scholarships to engage low- income and minority youth in the program. Briefly describe the specific purpose and goal for your 2017 SIMA Environmental Fund grant. Coastkeeper Purpose: To support the general operations of the Coastkeeper program Coastkeeper Goals: 1. To generate opposition to the proposed federal plan to open the Atlantic to leasing for offshore oil and gas exploration and drilling Under the new administration, our previous years’ victory in removing the Atlantic from the threat of oil and gas exploration and development was overturned and once again we were faced with the need to continue opposition on a local, state and federal level to oil and gas leases in the Atlantic coastal waters off Delmarva. As part of our campaign, we organized the 2018 Float for The Coast kayaktivist event in the bay waters behind the Ocean City Convention Center during the summer conference of the Maryland Association of Counties where all Maryland county, state and federal elected leaders were in attendance. With nearly 200 activists on kayaks, canoes and SUP boards we gave speeches on a bull horn and encouraged our elected leaders to stay strong in their opposition to offshore drilling and seismic air gun surveys, while we also promoted the need for more clean and sustainable energy development through solar and offshore wind farms. Here is a video clip of ABC Channel 47 news coverage. https://www.wmdt.com/2018/08/kayaktivists-make-a-big- splash-during-float-for-the-coast/ In December of 2018 the Trump Administration and NOAA Fisheries approved Incidental Harassment Authorizations for seismic air gun surveys to begin off our coast. ACT joined with partners Oceana and elected leaders in Maryland and Delaware to block the IHA permits and stop the seismic blasting. You can learn more by visiting our website here: http://www.actforbays.org/protectatlantic.html We will continue our campaign to vigorously oppose these activities. 2. To continue regular on the water, on the ground and in the air patrolling of coastal bays watershed to identify pollution sources and educate public about water quality challenges and threats Coastkeeper and our legal partner Environmental Action Center had a significant victory in a Maryland court during 2018 that overturned a Clean Water Permit the MD Department of Environment had approved for a 360,000 bird Confined Animal Feeding Operation near the Pocomoke River. The Judge agreed with us the permit, as approved, was not protective of nearby waterways and was not consistent with the intent of the law under the Clean Water Act. You can read more about this precedent setting case here: http://www.actforbays.org/industrial-agriculture.html Coastkeeper has maintained the regular level of patrolling on the water and on the ground. There have been three aerial patrols during the grant period, one of which was to document illegal destruction of critical shoreline buffers in a housing development along Herring Creek and hold Worcester County and the State accountable for enforcing mitigation of the violation. Overall, Coastkeeper has kept vigilant watch over the watershed, including discovery of a number of areas for concern such as construction site debris pollution, all of which have been reported to appropriate authorities. 3. To continue water quality monitoring program and report on possible health hazards for recreational users Coastkeeper has conducted weekly sampling and analysis of water quality conditions during the summer in 10 heavily recreated sites, reporting conditions to the public via the Swim Guide App and Coastkeeper websites. These website reports were viewed 13,000 times during the 2018 swim season, a 50% increase over the summer of 2017, indicating there are significant numbers of people with an interest in local water quality conditions in heavily recreated areas. Aside from expected bacterial spikes following rain events this past season, only one site experiencing repeated incidence of elevated bacteria levels on Turville Creek and with the help of an anonymous donor who lives along the creek we shipped water samples to a DNA source tracking lab in Florida to confirm the bacteria was human. This information has been shared with state and county officials in an effort to speed of the state funding that will be used to either upgrade septic systems along the creek or hook homes up to a nearby wastewater treatment facility. 4. To lead and coordinate beach cleanup activities associated with International Coastal Cleanup We directly managed the International Coastal Cleanup Day at Assateague Island National Seashore, which involved over 200 volunteers collecting more than 1.5 tons of debris from the beaches. We also coordinated 10 other cleanup sites around the region and on Assateague Island. You can read more about this effort here: http://www.actforbays.org/trash-free-assateague.html The 2017 SIMA Grant funds were used to maintain the Coastkeeper boat so regular water patrols could continue.