This year’s Creek Week in Goleta was bigger and better than ever! Our community came together for so many fun events all aimed at protecting and celebrating our treasured creeks and watersheds! We would like to thank all who came to participate in our events that included Coastal Cleanup Day, Free Bulky Items Collection, a tour of San Pedro Creek, an Art Contest at the Goleta Valley Library, and a Lunch and Learn at the Goleta Community Center.

Coastal Cleanup Day, Saturday, September 21^st: Over 65 volunteers showed up for Goleta’s Coastal Cleanup location at Haskell’s Beach. Participants included the Evening Rotary Club of Goleta, Ritz-Carlton Bacara, and numerous residents. The site was captained by Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP.  An estimated 253 pounds of trash and recyclables were removed from our local beach by our community!

Free Bulky Items Collection, Saturday, September 21^st: The free Bulky Items Collection event collected nearly three 40-yard bins of furniture, mattresses, tires, and more! These events provide our residents with a convenient collection site and help to prevent illegal dumping. A huge thank you to MarBorg Industries, Inc., Big Green Cleaning Company, Solid Waste Solutions, Inc., Councilmember Stuart Kasdin, and the Environmental Services Division, who all supported this effort!

San Pedro Creek Tour, Wednesday, September 25^th: Community members and organizations connected for an enjoyable walk along the beautiful San Pedro Creek. Melissa Nelson with City of Goleta Environmental Services, Andrew Raaf with the County of Santa Barbara Flood Control, and Brian Trautwein with the Environmental Defense Center, teamed up to discuss various aspects of San Pedro Creek. Participants learned about the City of Goleta’s Creek and Watershed programs, migration of steelhead trout, native plants and animals that call this creek home, and the County’s fish passage project. This was also a great opportunity for us to learn what the community values in the San Pedro Creek. The City would like to thank all who attended and made this an engaging and fun way to learn more about our creeks.

Creek Week Art Contest Reception, Thursday, September 26^th: Read more about this great event and find out the winners in this article.

Lunch and Learn, Friday, September 27^th: Held at the Goleta Community Center, the City was thrilled to welcome the many community members, Councilmember James Kyriaco, and our speakers to learn more about our creeks and watersheds. Melissa Nelson with City of Goleta Environmental Services spoke about the City’s Creek and Watersheds program, and Brian Trautwein with the Environmental Defense Center and Mark Capelli with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration gave attendees an in-depth look at Southern California Steelhead Trout, including a summary of the last 5 years of trout study. It was such a fun and educational way to spend our Friday lunchtime! If you missed it, you can review the presentation and materials on our website here.

We can’t wait for next year!

Pictured above: Coastal Cleanup Day volunteers at Haskell’s Beach

San Pedro Creek Tour