Heal the Ocean

05/29/2026

Last night, Heal the Ocean celebrated the groundbreaking for the Carpinteria Advanced Purification Project (CAPP) with County Supervisor Roy Lee, HTO Executive Director Karina Johnston, HTO co-Founder Hillary Hauser, Carpinteria Mayor Natalia Alarcon, and many others. CAPP is a partnership between Carpinteria Sanitary District and Carpinteria Valley Water District. HTO has been working towards recycled water for over two decades, and this huge step to bring purified recycled water to Carpinteria will help reduce pollution to the ocean. Congratulations!

05/21/2026

Cheers! 🍻 to the release of Liquid Corners — a new West Coast Pale Ale brewed in collaboration with our friends at Rincon Brewery, launching TOMORROW (Friday, May 22) at both Rincon Brewery - Carpinteria and Ventura. $1 from each pint sold will be donated to Heal the Ocean.

Rincon Point holds a special place in Heal the Ocean's history. It's more than an iconic surf break — it's where Heal the Ocean began its first project, marking a pivotal step in protecting our coastline. Artist John Wullbrandt's breathtaking painting of Rincon Point wraps every can of this limited release, and the original painting will be available for auction in June (June 3rd-18th) with proceeds benefiting Heal the Ocean's ongoing work.

The painting will be on display at Santa Barbara Fine Art for June's First Thursday event, come say hello to the Heal the Ocean team and enjoy a delicious beer!

We are so grateful for John, and the team at Rincon Brewery for this very special collaboration. Thank you also to Distinctive Framing, who donated the beautiful frame, and to Santa Barbara Fine Art for displaying John's art during the duration of the auction.

This is community-powered conservation at its best — local art, local craft, and local love for the California coast coming together for a cause that matters.

05/08/2026

Last week in Summerland, a sailboat broke free during high winds and slammed into the shoreline near Lookout Park. The risk? Fuel, sewage and hazardous debris entering the ocean.

Heal the Ocean's Field Consultant acted quickly to remove fuel from the vessel, and partnered with Marborg to remove the vessel before it could break apart and contaminate the coastline.

Read more here:

A beached sailboat is a serious concern on the coast of Summerland. The county may authorize it to be crushed removed by Marborg before it gets broken up by wave action.

05/04/2026

We are over 70% of the way there!

Now’s a powerful moment to support our work — every donation made through this campaign will be doubled, dollar-for-dollar, up to $2,500 thanks to the Johnson Ohana Foundation through Jack Johnson’s All at Once community.

Your support helps achieve real change, furthering our goal of creating a healthy ocean and resilient coastline for all people (and wildlife) to enjoy.

A huge "thank you" to Kim and Jack Johnson for standing with us since our early days, and to the Johnson Ohana Foundation for continuing to amplify important environmental work around the world. 💙

When you donate through this link, your donation to Heal the Ocean will be matched by the Jack Johnson Ohana Foundation (up to $2,500)

04/22/2026

🌎 This Earth Day, your impact can go twice as far!

Now’s a powerful moment to support our work — every donation made during our special Earth Day 🌱 matching period will be doubled, dollar-for-dollar, up to $2,500 thanks to the Johnson Ohana Foundation through Jack Johnson’s All at Once community.

Your support helps achieve real change, furthering our goal of creating a healthy ocean and resilient coastline for all people (and wildlife) to enjoy. 🌊

We’re deeply grateful to Kim and Jack Johnson for standing with us since our early days, and to the Johnson Ohana Foundation for continuing to amplify important environmental work around the world. 💙

Make your gift count twice through our matching donation link: https://givebutter.com/jack-johnson-matching-1n07q3

04/17/2026

We’re excited to share a big step forward in tackling one of our region’s most persistent pollutants: EPS (expanded polystyrene, also known as Styrofoam).

Heal the Ocean is proud to collaborate with MarBorg Industries to expand a regional EPS recycling program—now brought fully local to Santa Barbara. Together, we’ve already diverted more than 80,000 pounds of foam from landfills and our ocean.

In this video, you'll see Brian Borgatello (of MarBorg) loading styrofoam dropped off by the community into the densifier. Check the comments to see the compressed bricks which are then sold and repurposed into new picture frames, home moulding, packaging, and more!

With new on-site densifying equipment, we can now process more material right here in our community, reducing strain on our landfills and preventing this pollutant from entering our ocean.

Have clean, dry Styrofoam? Drop it off at one of the two participating MarBorg locations: 20 Love Place (Goleta), or 132 Nopalitos Way (Lower Milpas area) and be part of the solution!

https://www.independent.com/2026/04/14/turning-the-tide-on-styrofoam-heal-the-ocean-and-marborg-industries-expand-regional-eps-recycling-program/

04/14/2026

Reminder 🎉 join us TONIGHT April 14th, from 5-7pm at T**a T**a Brewery (120 Santa Barbara Street) to celebrate Earth Month 🌎with Heal the Ocean and T**a T**a Brewing Co.!

We'll cheers with our special Heal the Ocean Hazy IPA and Karina Johnston, our Executive Director, will be giving a short presentation about HTO's work, starting at around 5:30pm.

Come by, connect with our team, and raise a glass to celebrate cleaner coastlines! 🌊

**First 10 people to come to our info table will receive a 2 for 1 pint coupon! 🍻**

04/10/2026

Join us next Tuesday in celebrating the close of our Q1 partnership with T**a T**a Brewing Co. as part of their Good Good Hazy series.

We’re hosting a happy hour to mark the positive impact we’ve made together—and to express our gratitude to T**a T**a for helping support cleaner coastlines.

Our Executive Director, Karina Johnston, will also be sharing a short presentation on some of Heal the Ocean’s latest accomplishments and exciting new projects on the horizon.

Come by, connect with our team, and raise a glass to the collective impact! 🍻

03/28/2026

Join us for a beach cleanup + community hangout! 🌊♻️

Heal the Ocean is teaming up with T**a T**a Brewing Co. for a community beach cleanup on Thursday, April 2nd from 10 AM–12 PM at West Beach in Santa Barbara.

Help us protect our coastline by removing trash and debris, then stick around after the cleanup for a fun get-together at the T**a T**a taproom 🍻

✔️ All cleanup supplies provided
✔️ Everyone welcome
✔️ Good vibes for a great cause

We’re also pleased to celebrate our first-quarter 2026 collaboration with T**a T**a Brewing Co. during a Happy Hour event on Tuesday, April 14 at 5:30 PM at their Santa Barbara taproom (more to come!). We extend our sincere gratitude to T**a T**a Brewing Co. for their support.

See you there!

03/26/2026

We are thrilled to welcome Phyllis Grifman to the Heal the Ocean Board of Directors! 🌊

Throughout her distinguished career, Grifman has championed the integration of rigorous scientific research with effective public policy and community engagement. Her expertise spans coastal resilience, water quality, climate adaptation, marine pollution, and science communication — making her an extraordinary addition to Heal the Ocean’s leadership.

Her expertise will be invaluable as we continue working to protect our coastline and ocean. Please join us in welcoming Phyllis!

Read the full press release: https://www.independent.com/2026/03/24/heal-the-ocean-welcomes-phyllis-grifman-to-board-of-directors/

📸Photo credit: Zander Fieschko