A New Wave of Protection

Heal the Ocean built its reputation by going after the sources of ocean pollution: failing septic systems, leaking oil wells, contaminated groundwater and, more recently, derelict boats. Now the Santa Barbara nonprofit is adding another crucial focus to its work: protecting the coastline itself. The question is how best to do that?

That question is at the center of an expanded mission adopted by Heal the Ocean’s board last November. Ocean pollution reduction remains a core priority, but the organization is now pairing that work with a growing focus on coastal resilience – preparing for flooding and sea level rise while looking for solutions that can restore the natural systems along the shore.

For Executive Director Karina Johnston, that means starting with a shift in perspective.

“I think one of the things we run into more frequently is that people sometimes think about climate change and sea level rise as happening in the future,” Johnston says. “But it’s really a ‘now’ problem.”

High tides and storm surges are already flooding vulnerable areas along the coast. Heal the Ocean is working to identify where those vulnerabilities exist and how nature itself might provide part of the answer.

Coastal dunes and wetlands can create natural buffers against flooding, while also restoring habitat, improving water quality, managing sediment, and sequestering carbon. The opportunity is particularly significant in Southern California, where Johnston says more than 90 percent of coastal dunes south of Point Conception have been lost since the late 1800s.

Heal the Ocean is now exploring potential restoration projects with the cities of Santa Barbara and Carpinteria, looking at where dunes and wetlands historically existed, where they could be successfully reintroduced and where they could provide the greatest benefit to surrounding communities.

The approach may represent a new chapter for Heal the Ocean, but it follows a familiar playbook.

Since Hillary Hauser co-founded the organization in 1998, Heal the Ocean has used science to define environmental problems and then worked with public agencies to turn that research into action. Its early work at Rincon Point ultimately helped remove septic systems along more than seven miles of coastline. In Summerland, that same approach is now helping the State Lands Commission determine which of more than several hundred abandoned nearshore oil wells should be prioritized for capping.

Johnston sees the organization’s emerging coastal resilience work following a similar path: develop solutions locally, demonstrate that they work and create models that can be applied
elsewhere.

It is also why she resists the sense of inevitability that can surround conversations about a changing climate. Restoring a dune or wetland will not simply prepare a community for what may happen decades from now. It can improve the coastline and benefit people today.

“There are great solutions out there,” Johnston says. “And I feel confident that we can do it.”