San Diego CoastKeeper Non-Profit Announcement for Quarter 3 Paddlers Pledge

Cali Paddler is excited to announce San Diego CoastKeeper is the newest recipient of the Paddle Pledge.

San Diego CoastKeeperFor those of us who paddle, whether it’s on a bay or lake, on a river or out in the giant blue ocean we know how important clean water is, not only to us but to the rest of the environment. As a community of paddlers, we are aware of the problems our waterways face when it comes to pollution. My home turf(water) is Mission Bay in San Diego. Anyone who knows San Diego knows about the trouble Mission Bay has had over the years with pollution. Nothing like being out on the bay in a canoe our on a SUP and thinking to yourself, “I’ll be fine as long as I don’t fall in”. That’s not the way I want to paddle. That’s why CaliPaddler is proud to partner with San Diego CoastKeeper.

San Diego CoastKeeperClarke and I recently toured the headquarters, thanks to the gracious hospitality and enthusiasm of the CoastKeeper team. We got to see the water testing facility in action, both exciting and disturbing. We got to learn about the educational programs they offer to San Diego county schools. CaliPaddler will be donating 5% of this quarters proceeds to San Diego CoastKeeper to help further their amazing work to keep our waters clean.

Who are they? Since 1995, San Diego Coastkeeper has worked to protect and restore inland and coastal water in San Diego County. They are now a staff of six and protect hundreds of miles of coastline, creeks, rivers, and bays across San Diego County. They play a leadership role in developing and implementing solutions to water issues throughout the county for the communities and wildlife that depend on clean water.

San Diego CoastKeeper

What do they do? San Diego Coastkeeper is known as San Diego County’s water quality watchdog and advocates for the health of San Diego County waterways. They combine community education, data-driven advocacy, and legal action to protect and restore fishable, swimmable, drinkable water in San Diego County. They have engaged tens of thousands of volunteers at more than 500 beach cleanups, resulting in the removal of over one million pounds of trash from our coastline. Through their Water Quality Monitoring Program, they have trained more than 1,000 citizen scientists to measure ambient water conditions and collect water samples from rivers and streams across the county each month. Working to preserve our coastal resources, they successfully advocated to establish state-level protections for 15% of Southern California coastal water in marine protected areas. Since 2014, they have provided more than 560 San Diego-area teachers with free, hands-on water science curriculum and have educated more than 12,000 K-12 grade students about water quality and pollution prevention.

San Diego CoastKeeper

Why is it important? Over the past 22 years, San Diego CoastKeeper have worked with the City of San Diego to improve its sewage infrastructure, leading to a 90% reduction in sewage spills and a 77% decrease in beach advisories across the county. That’s a lot more “safe” water time for us paddlers.

What if I don’t live in San Diego? There are many paddlers throughout California who face the same water quality problems we have here in San Diego. Click here to find a local WaterKeeper near you https://waterkeeper.org/waterkeepers/

San Diego CoastKeeper

How can you support? If you see something, say something. If you see a source of pollution affecting a San Diego waterway reach out to San Diego Coastkeeper, they have the power, resources and connections to act and make a difference Help them continue their work by donating to their organization. Be involved with their work, volunteer for a beach cleanup.

To Learn more about San Diego Coastkeeper check out their website (sdcoastkeeper.org) and follow them on social media too...


Team Writer Josh OlsonDirector of Non-Profit Relations Josh Olson -Josh has been a supporter of our conservation and stewardship vision from the very start. Even when he and his wife had a newborn baby, they were with us at our beach clean-ups. It is part of his nature to seek out opportunities to make our waterways and beaches cleaner and healthier. So when the opportunity to add Josh to our team as our non-profit liaison became open, we were thrilled.

With a background in the outdoor recreation industry, and diverse paddling resume from kayak training and certification to outrigger canoe racing, Josh knows what it is like to be a paddler. And how a company like Cali Paddler can make a difference given the right energy and passion. Josh embraces the role of seeking out amazing environmental groups in our state, and creating relationships with them. So we can promote their efforts, and share with all the paddlers in our state these great groups. In addition, we will be adding to our 5% Paddler Pledge recipient list, and Josh will be thoroughly researching these great groups, to ensure that your purchases are worthy of your donations with each product you buy.

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Paddle Pledge Non-Profits