Washed Ashore! "Plastics, Sealife and Art"

Tom and I spent Saturday afternoon at one of my favorite places here in the Bay Area - The Marine Mammal Center in the Marin Headlands.   


The Marine Mammal Center does many wonderful things for our marine mammals; harbor seals, elephant seals, California sea lions, even an occasional sea otter may find themselves here in the hospital after being found injured on one of our local beaches.  Sometimes the doctors and volunteers even perform miracles!


From the Marine Mammal Center website: 

"Our mission is to expand knowledge about marine mammals—their health and that of their ocean environment—and to inspire their global conservation. Our core work is the rescue and rehabilitation of sick and injured marine mammals, supported by state-of-the-art animal care and research facilities, a corps of dedicated volunteers, and an engaged community."

The "Washed Ashore" art exhibit was created to bring awareness to how dangerous plastics are affecting our oceans, and how even small changes can help.   "This community art project has turned the ugly reality of ocean trash into beautiful sculptures of the marine life we strive to save, inspiring us all to re-think our use of plastics and change our habits."    

"Henry" greets visitors as they arrive at the center - 15 feet of every imaginable piece of collected plastic make up this incredible sculpture! 

Just a few bullet points to consider:

1.  100's of volunteers collected all of this trash from 20 miles of Oregon beaches

2.  Over 7000 pounds of trash were collected

3. 99% of all trash collected was petroleum based 

      - everything from toothbrushes,hairbrushes, Styrofoam, lighters, fishing rope, soap bottles, kids toys, and every size of flip-flop you could possibly imagine!

Lidia the Seal

Jellie

Sea Turtle

Whale Bones

Starfish 

These masks were made of pieces of collected garbage that were too small for the larger sculptures - there's probably 30 detailed masks to see, these are only a few examples!

There were so many sculptures to see, and it gave us even more to think about... 

Some ideas to consider:

1. Bring an extra bag to the beach (not only for your seaglass!) to pick up and dispose of trash

2. NO more plastic bags - bring your own to the grocery store

3.  NO more bottled water

4.  Use as many recycled products as possible

5.  Reuse, recycle, and reduce

Even the small things can help!  Don't forget to leave a note on our Eco-Friendly Pillow post and enter our giveaway for a Sea Turtle Pillow - and if you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, make sure to see the Washed Ashore exhibit before it's gone in October.

Rodeo Lagoon at Marin Headlands

Today was not a great day for photography.  Too windy, too gray, the sky was too flat, but such an awesome day to actually experience being out at the Marin Headlands!  Rodeo Beach was closed due to high surf and very dangerous coastal conditions, but I could still walk around Rodeo Lagoon.

The Lagoon was filled to the brim with seawater from the Pacific Ocean, and these shore birds did not seem to mind one bit!  Actually, I was rather shocked that they let me get so close.  Usually when I try to catch a grey heron, they are off and running as soon as I get the camera out.

Hope you enjoy these sea birds from the Marin Headlands in Sausalito!