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Community Corner

Great Escape: Help Heal the Bay on California Coastal Cleanup Day

Join an international effort to help clean up the ocean on Saturday and get a free pass to the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium

Make it a Great Escape while doing something to help the planet on California Coastal Cleanup Day 2011, Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. Be part of this international effort and join 90 countries in honor of Oceans Day to clean up beaches in local communities. Choose from among 60 locations along the coastline from Zuma to Seal Beach, and pitch in.

The cleanup effort is sponsored by the Santa Monica-based environmental group Heal the Bay. Last year more than 82,500 volunteers removed more than 1.2 million pounds of trash and recyclables from our beaches, lakes and waterways. When combined with the international effort, California Coastal Cleanup Day becomes part of one of the largest volunteer events in the world. 

Bags and gloves will be provided for all volunteers. However, to help cut down on the number of bags used, please bring a reusable bucket or reuse a bag from home. Also encouraged are the use of reusable water bottles and garden gloves.

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Registration is required. Volunteers must be at least 13 years old or accompanied by a parent. For groups of 10 or more, please call 800-HEAL BAY, ext. 148. All cleanup volunteers must have a signed waiver form.

Volunteers get an extra perk—a free pass to the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, which is located at the pier.

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If you can’t volunteer, you can help out with a $5 donation. Text GIVE2CCD to 20222.

Heal the Bay began was founded by Dorothy Green in 1985 when she gathered a group of people together to help end sewage dumping in Santa Monica Bay. Since then, more than 10,000 people have volunteered to help clean up the ocean environment.

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