A RECORD-BREAKING CLEANUP IN SAND CITY WITH OVER 1,500 POUNDS OF TRASH COLLECTED!
PHOTO CREDIT: HARRY PARKER PHOTOGRAPHY
For International Coastal Cleanup Day, we spearheaded the cleanup at Sand City Beach at the end of Playa Ave next to the Costco/Target shopping center. Our paragliding buddies, "The Dune Gooneys", encouraged us to tackle the unseen trash behind the dunes which is often spotted while in flight and the effort paid off!
It was a historic day for our chapter as we had over 140 volunteers lug over 1,500 pounds of trash off of the beach and dunes, including over 1,800 cigarette butts.
Thank you to Save Our Shores for organizing cleanups across Monterey Bay and thank you to Trash Turtles for joining forces and supporting us during the cleanup.
A special shoutout to Rachelle with Pacific Flow Yoga for leading our rise & shine yoga session and to Alta-Cal Roofing for donating batches of new reusable gloves for our volunteers.
Finally, we were so stoked to be joined by several students from the Defense Language Institute and the entire CSUMB Softball team led by Coach Emily Montañez.
As a whole through Save our Shores, a total of 1,531 volunteers removed 7,757.5 pounds of debris from beaches, rivers, waterways, and parks across Monterey Bay on Coastal Cleanup Day alone.
VIEW PHOTOS BY HARRY PARKER PHOTOGRAPHY
BLUE WATER TASK FORCE WATER QUALITY MONITORING RESULTS
Our Blue Water Task Force citizen scientists processed our latest water quality samples earlier this month, and the results are in the green for all our sites! We conduct testing every two weeks in partnership with The MetaLab at the Middlebury Institute for International Studies
OUR BLUE WATER TASK FORCE PROGRAM
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7: CHAPTER MEETING & SALTY SPEAKER SERIES
Join our next quarterly chapter meeting & salty speaker series on Wednesday, October 7, from 6- 8 PM at Oscar's Playground on Cannery Row.
In addition to an update on our offshore drilling campaign, we'll learn about the connections between watersheds and the ocean. One of our featured speaker includes Monterey Waterkeeper's Outdoor Education & Outreach Coordinator, Erin Lawrence.
Per usual, we'll have pizza, popcorn, and bubbly water available for a suggested $5 donation. Oscar's Playground hosts a bar in their arcade where alcoholic beverages can be purchased. All are welcome to this casual event to get connected and meet other ocean-lovers in the community!
OCTOBER IS OCEAN-FRIENDLY BUSINESSES MONTH
The Surfrider Foundation has dubbed October as Ocean Friendly Businesses Month where we take the opportunity to promote businesses in our community that follow our ocean-friendly practices in the restaurant and hotel sectors.
Celebrate this month by dining with and supporting our partners:
- Alvarado Street Brewery (all locations)
- Brophy's
- Bud's in Carmel Plaza
- Captain + Stoker (Monterey & Sand City)
- Crema Lovers Point
- Foray
- Happy Girl Kitchen Co.
- Jacks Monterey
- Montrio
- Oystertown
- Passionfish
- Peter B's Brewpub
- The Pocket Wine Bar
- Sovino Wine Bar
- Tarpy's
- The Pocket
- Rio Grill
Don't see your favorite restaurant listed? Encourage them to join our free Ocean Friendly Restaurant Program
Ocean Friendly Hotels
Our Ocean Friendly Hotels program recognizes hotels that are committed to making sustainable choices for our ocean so that people can lodge with peace of mind.
- Hotel Carmel
- La Playa Hotel
- Portola Hotel & Spa
MONTEREY'S OCEAN-FRIENDLY RESTAURANTS
YOGA AND WATERSHED CLEANUP AT LAGUNA GRANDE PARK: SATURDAY, OCT 10
Once per year we step away from our beloved sands to do a watershed cleanup. Join us at Laguna Grande Park (across from Seaside City Hall) for our monthly cleanup and free yoga.
9AM: Free Park Yoga
10AM - 12PM: Park & Watershed Cleanup
CALIFORNIA SEAWEED FESTIVAL, OCT 24
Join us at the 7th Annual California Seaweed Festival hosted on October 24 from 9AM - 5PM at Custom House Plaza in downtown Monterey. This family-friendly event is free, open to the public, and celebrates researchers, innovators, chefs, and ocean advocates for a day of talks, demos, seaweed tastings, and hands-on exploration of the science, culture, and future of microalgae. Come curious. Leave inspired.
DIVE INTO CA SEAWEED FEST
JOIN OUR VOLUNTEER LEADERSHIP TEAM
The Executive Committee (EC) is a group of volunteers responsible for running a Surfrider Foundation chapter. It’s a fun and rewarding position that requires consistent effort through a two-year term. Applications are now open for the 2027 / 2028 Executive Committee term.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Unable to commit to a two-year term but still interested in getting more involved? Our Impact Ambassador group is a team of volunteers who step up to help our chapter run events and programs which can range from helping to check people in at cleanups to representing our chapter at outreach events.
IMPACT AMBASSADORS
2026 CLEANUP SCHEDULE