San Diego Coastkeeper protects and restores fishable, swimmable, drinkable water in San Diego County.

Project SWELL: This hands-on, inquiry based science curriculum is implemented by San Diego Coastkeeper in partnership with the City of San Diego and the San Diego and Oceanside Unified School Districts. This unique program trains K-6 teachers to incorporate experiments and activities about water in the San Diego region. Students become stewards of our local aquatic habitat, preventing pollution, conserving water and starting early training as environmental leaders for San Diego County.

San Diego Coastkeeper’s Legal Clinic: With guidance from legal staff, 2^nd and 3^rd year law students commit one or more semesters to work at San Diego Coastkeeper. These student attorneys undertake research and strategy development to recommend a course of action to correct environmental harms. They gain real-world experience as environmental attorneys while significantly increasing Coastkeeper’s capacity for collaborative and legal corrective action.

Monthly water quality monitoring: San Diego Coastkeeper has monitored regional water quality since 2000. The largest volunteer water monitoring program in the state that we know of, it provides local regulatory decision-makers with baseline data on water quality conditions in San Diego coastal waters and engages local residents in active learning about the health of their watersheds. Annually 100 volunteer monitors collect samples and analyze them in Coastkeeper’s state of the art laboratory. Coastkeeper provides public access to water quality data for about 90 sites throughout San Diego County via our website.

Pollution Patrollers: A new program called Pollution Patrollers further engages and empowers volunteers by teaching residents to identify best management practices and report violations. In 2012, we plan to launch a project to identify potential sources of pollution and work with regulatory agencies and the responsible parties to aid them in eliminating preventable pollution.

Clean Sweep: San Diego Coastkeeper patrols San Diego Bay from our 18’ Boston Whaler. We routinely monitor marinas and runoff sites to find examples of the good, the bad and the ugly. On our best days, we find examples of excellent pollution control by our friends who enjoy the water. Other days, we document examples of poor protection and do our best to reach out to the owners and managers who can implement better practices.

Staff & Volunteers: Our eight full time staff lead the charge for clean water in San Diego County and hundreds of volunteers form the backbone of that effort, contributing to everything we achieve. Some of us prefer a hoppy IPA, while others like a hef or a nice lager. We all agree that great beer starts with great water.

San Diego Coatkeeper strives to prevent pollution before it occurs and work with people and businesses to choose practices that  reduce and prevent damage to our coastal ecology, protect the tourism and marine economy and restore those damanges that have already occurred.