Whether you’re native or a visitor to Santa Monica, you can’t help but instantly fall in love with this gorgeous city! A lot of its natural beauty is protected by passionate people, including the non-profit The Bay Foundation, which has been working to restore Santa Monica’s Bay since 1990.

The Bay Foundation, also known as the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Foundation, works with the Environmental Protection Agency to restore and enhance the Santa Monica Bay’s water quality. This is pretty significant work, considering nearly two million people live in the Santa Monica Bay Watershed, not counting the millions who visit the area year-round from around the world. The watershed stretches from Ventura County to Palos Verdes, from the Santa Monica Mountains and Griffith Park, to Baldwin Hills and out to sea. One of the main ways the foundation does this is through conducting research on the bay and its ecosystems using cutting-edge technology, and by raising public awareness of the Bay’s wellbeing. With their research, they come up with innovative projects and policies that work to clean up waterways, create green spaces in urban areas, and restore habitats such as wetlands and kelp forests.

How to Get Involved

The Bay Foundation also works with the community through local events and fundraisers. There are a few events coming up where you can get involved:

• October 17th Coastal Connections 5: This event is happening right here at Pacific Park on Santa Monica Pier! You can purchase tickets that go to benefit The Bay Foundation for this family-friendly event. The event takes place 5:30-8:30pm, with an evening including gourmet food, entertainment, and passes for all of the games and rides Santa Monica Pier has to offer! You can purchase tickets to this fundraising event here.
• October 23rd Ballona Wetlands Restoration Event: This is a community volunteer event from 9:30-11:30 am to help remove non-native vegetation that impedes the growth of drought-tolerant native plants. You can register for this volunteer event here.
• November 2nd LAX Dunes Restoration: You can register to volunteer to help remove non-native and invasive vegetation on the historical LAX Dunes site. Minors are welcome to volunteer as well, if accompanied by an adult. You can register to volunteer here.
• November 16th Stone Canyon Creek Restoration at UCLA: You can be part of the community volunteer day to help with the restoration of Stone Canyon Creek. Register to volunteer here.
• December 7th LAX Dunes Restoration: There will be another LAX Dunes restoration community volunteer day in December! You can register to volunteer here.

Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier is a long-time partner and supporter of The Bay Foundation. Jeff Klocke, Vice President and General Manager of Pacific Park, has served on the Board of Director’s for The Bay Foundation since 2015. Pacific Park also host’s their annual Coastal Connections fundraiser in the Park. Guests get to enjoy spectacular views of the Santa Monica coastline from Pacific Park’s private event space, a delicious catered dinner, and unlimited rides. The Park also does a custom light show on the world-famous Pacific Wheel Ferris wheel the night of the event, featuring dolphins jumping over water and other sea-inspired icons.

In addition to the one-off community events, you can join The Bay Foundation’s efforts by becoming an ongoing volunteer for the non-profit! Learn more about volunteering with The Bay Foundation.