Celebrate World Oceans Day!

World Oceans Day is on Saturday, June 8th and a chance to celebrate and bring awareness to a part of Mother Earth that covers 71% of our world and holds 97% of all the water on Earth.  The concept for World Oceans Day was first proposed by the Canadian Government at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, in 1992.  After several years and the coordinated efforts of many organizations and tens of thousands of individuals, a resolution was passed in December 2008, and the United Nations officially began recognizing World Oceans Day on June 8th of every year.  This was an important step in turning the effort into a global one.  Since then the network of partners worldwide has grown to include approximately 2,000 organizations committed to preserving our oceans and the marine and plant life that call them home.  

We will be celebrating the day by spending some time enjoying our local beach and recommitting to being better stewards of our environment.  Some changes that we have personally made include: to not use single use plastic bottles and opt instead for stainless steel or multiple use bottles; to use reusable totes or bags when shopping; to not use plastic straws either at home or while out dining; picking up trash when we see it even when it was not ours; recycle/repurpose when possible; and our Save the Plastic Tree promotion.  We are also exploring other ways of reducing our use of plastic and impact on the environment and will be sharing with you in future posts what we have found successful.   

Help us spread the word and share how you plan to celebrate World Oceans Day this year as well as any changes you have made or plan to make to preserve our oceans and environment. Change starts with each of us and together we can make a difference!

https://www.oceanicinstitute.org/aboutoceans/aquafacts.html

http://www.worldoceansday.org

College Park Turns 19 Years!

Dreams.  Cotton candy fluff and ethereal or a concrete reality?  For Lompoc skate park, aka College Park, it is a dream that is literally a concrete reality and celebrates 16 years this month.  A dream first dreamt in the late 1970’s (and perhaps before then) but discarded as impossible, became more probable with the advent of SB994.

SB994 was a little piece of legislature that included skateboarding as an extreme sport and limited the property owner’s liability if injury should occur.  With the passing of SB994, skateparks began popping up in California and the dream kept alive by a few began to become more viable.  The idea was then brought to the Lompoc Parks and Rec Youth Commission who made it goal to make the dream a reality.  

Working together, the Youth Commission, Lompoc Parks & Rec and Surf Connection rallied the skateboarding community and raised monies as a good faith testament to the need.  A piece of property was acquired through an agreement with Santa Barbara County and the Lompoc City Council agreed to fund the project through the City Budget.  Several meetings with an experienced professional skate park designer and the skateboarding community resulted in the current design of the park.  With the design in hand, the project was put out to bid, a builder selected and ground was broken.  Soon a simple dirt field became a concrete playground for skateboarders of all ages and levels of ability to enjoy.  

Today, the park is virtually unchanged from when it first opened.  There is a fence that now surrounds it, some of the edges are showing the wear and tear of daily use and Lovin’ Lompoc helped revive its image a few summers back with some fresh splashes of color on the vertical aspects of the park, but overall, the concrete waves first put in place remain the same.  What makes us smile the most, however, is that just about any given time, on any day, one can visit the park and see skateboarders challenging the concrete and enjoying the ride.  And isn’t that what dreams are for, becoming concrete?  

Celebrate National Small Business Week With Us on Saturday May 11th!

We believe small businesses should be celebrated every week but there is an official National Small Business Week which was established in 1963.   Over 50 years ago, President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation citing the importance of small businesses in job creation and building strong, viable communities. 

Though many years have passed and many things have changed since the first National Small Business Week over 50 years ago, one thing that hasn’t changed is how important our local small businesses are.  More than 50% of Americans own or work for a small business, every 2 of 3 jobs in the private sector is created by a small business and the success of small businesses is critical to growing the US economy.  Also, on a local level, a healthy small business community contributes positively to the local economy, allowing money to circulate within the same community for an extended period of time.  Local business owners tend to use the services of other local businesses and employees spend money where they work.  This, coupled with the resulting tax dollars for infrastructure that then stay within the community, make for a stronger local economy and community.  

Please join us this year and celebrate National Small Business Week on Saturday May 11th. We’ll have special sales that day and our prize wheel will be spinning!

Sources:

http://www.mainlinemedianews.com/mainlinetimes/opinion/as-i-see-it-national-small-business-week-over-years/article_173736b5-dfb6-553d-9b78-9a6cc95f0231.html

https://www.business.com/articles/small-business-week-2018/

https://www.sba.gov/node/1615232

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-m-kirby/small-businesses-can-make_b_13127000.html

Surf Beach and the Snowy Plover

Surf Beach, a beautifully untamed stretch of coastline, is our local beach and possesses a rather unique history. From race track, to train station, to city, and back to undeveloped sand dunes, it is home to many shore birds, including the Western Snowy Plover.  The impact this small seemingly insignificant bird has had on Surf Beach is almost as great as the train station that is again in existence above the dunes today.

A modest, tiny shore bird, The Western Snowy Plover is approximately six inches in length with grey, brown upper plumage and white under plumage.  It primarily forages for small invertebrates in wet or dry beach-sand and among tide-cast kelp.  The birds nest in the dunes with a breeding season March through September and nests typically host three small eggs.  The parents share in the incubation duties but unlike many other birds, within hours of the eggs hatching, the small fledglings will leave the nest in search of food.  

In 1993 this unassuming, small bird was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and has since become the fulcrum point for Surf Beach visitation seven months of the year.  As Surf Beach is on Federal property, strict interpretation and enforcement of the Endangered Species Act has been observed.  During the nesting season of March 1st to September 30th each year, only a 1/2 mile of the coastline at Surf Beach is open to the public.  No fishing, kite flying, dogs, bonfires or camping are allowed on the beach and the dunes are off limits during this time period as well.  The number of violations allowed each season before the beach is closed completely to the public is limited to 50 and can be as vague as a set of footprints in the off limit areas.  Thankfully beach closures and limitations are just one aspect of Vandenberg AFB’s management program for the recovery of this species.  Others include predator management and habitat restoration through the removal of nonnative plant species. 

With all this focus on the recovery program at Surf Beach some are surprised to find the Western Snowy Plover’s habitat extends along the West Coast from Washington through Baja Mexico and beyond.  Indeed, many contend the bird is not truly threatened and cite reliable sources, information and data.  An appeal has been submitted to USF&WS to delist the bird but to date no response has been received.  It is not, however, our position at this time to debate the fairness or accuracy of the listing or the measurements taken by VAFB mandated through the ESA.  Rather, we are asking everyone to observe the rules in place and help keep our beach open all year so that we may enjoy the beauty of this untamed area in its natural glory.  

Currently, after just a little over seven weeks, violations are listed at 15 of the 50 allowed for the season.  If they continue at this rate complete access to Surf Beach will be lost again prior to the end of the nesting season.  

Truly, whether you believe the bird is threatened or whether you agree with the restrictions, we strongly believe we should always strive to be better stewards of our incredible planet and work to live side by side with nature everyday, not just seven months of the year. 

Celebrate Earth Day 2019 With Us!

Celebrate Earth Day 2019 with us!

The first Earth Day was celebrated over 40 years ago on April 22, 1970.  It was founded by Gaylord Nelson, a US Senator from Wisconsin, after seeing the impact of a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California.  At that time it was the largest oil spill in US history and still ranks at number 3, behind only the Deepwater Horizon and Exxon Valdez oil spills.  It was Mr. Gaylord’s vision to have a “national teach-in on the environment” and energize the public to protect the environment by addressing water and air pollution concerns.  Over 20 million Americans participated in that first Earth Day celebration uniting many in a common cause that had been previously fragmented over several specific environmental concerns.  

This year, Earth Day celebrations will focus on community volunteer clean ups world wide.  Green spaces, urban spaces, waterways, beaches and more will be patrolled by volunteers looking to pick up trash and dispose of it correctly.  Most of these clean ups are scheduled for Saturday, April 20th but Earth Day is officially April 22nd.  I couldn’t find an organized clean up for our area scheduled so I challenge everyone to take some time during the month of April, while walking down the sidewalk, through a parking lot, along a walking trail or beach to stop and notice what is in the environment.  Appreciate the plants, trees and flowers you see, the birdsong you may hear but also take note of any trash that may be present and pick it up to dispose of properly.  It only takes a moment and it is a way of sharing some love with Mother Nature.  If you would like to share with us on Facebook or Instagram your contribution to Earth Day, take a pic and post it to our Facebook page or DM us on Instagram and we will choose a picture at random on April 23rd.  The winner will receive a Final Straw collapsible travel straw worth $24.50!

Lastly, consider making every day an Earth Day.  Join us here at the store as we strive to continue reducing the number of single use bags that are used by saying ‘No’ and entering for a chance to win a $25 Gift Certificate back to the store.  A winner is drawn each month from all the entries!  Also, think of ways to reduce other plastics you use, like single use water bottles, straws, plastic lids, plastic wrap and many other items that have become an integral part of our lives.  Many times there are alternatives and when there aren’t please consider reusing, recycling or repurposing the item.  Together we can make a change!

Sources-

https://www.earthday.org/about/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1969_Santa_Barbara_oil_spill

https://cleanup.earthday.org