Protecting Our Beaches, Our Oceans, Our Resources

As a Goleta resident, I tend to flock to Haskell’s Beach anytime the temperature hovers above 75 degrees. Time and time again, as I walk toward the shore, I find myself just a bit annoyed as I step over layers upon layers of kelp that’s drifted up onto the sand. It’s a mess. Turns out, that mess is on purpose. 

“Every time we rake the beach, we’re changing the habitat for threatened species,” Holly Lohuis told me. Lohuis has spent time on this beach — well, lots of beaches actually — as a marine biologist, educator, and naturalist around Santa Barbara County. “[Haskell’s] is a very important habitat for a wide range of beautiful species,” she said.

For nearly three decades, Lohuis worked alongside “ocean’s best friend” Jean-Michel Cousteau and his marine conservation and education nonprofit Ocean Futures Society. More recently, she took on a role as naturalist with Cousteau’s education program, Ambassadors of the Environment. 

Launched more than 20 years ago, Ambassadors of the Environment has partnered with Ritz-Carltons all over the globe to educate guests on the important ecosystems in their local communities. Part of that partnership means protecting the natural habitat of species in communities surrounding each resort. Locally, that means the kelp is here to stay. 

“We take great pride in being ambassadors for the breathtaking natural beauty that surrounds our resort,” said Julia Solomon, senior marketing manager at The Ritz-Carlton Bacara. “Nestled along Haskell’s Beach, our commitment to preserving the rich marine ecosystem allows the giant kelp forest to thrive undisturbed.”

So it’s fitting that The Ritz-Carlton Bacara is set to host the Santa Barbara Channel Whale Heritage Area’s first anniversary event, where Lohuis now serves as co-director. 

Organized in part through the Bacara’s Community Footprint program, a Ritz-Carlton partnership between hotels and local communities to “bolster protection of the environment, education for children, and opportunity for social mobility,” “Whale of a Celebration” is the first of many events that Lohuis and her colleagues hope to educate locals and guests about the importance of healthy oceans. 

The two-day event will include a whale-watching trip aboard the Condor Express, film festival, and presentations from esteemed guests. 

Rick Rosenthal’s Whale Wisdom, a documentary that premiered in 2020 and narrated by David Attenborough, will open the festivities on Friday, November 22. Also premiering will be Santa Barbara–based wildlife film cameraman and producer Adam Ernster‘s Battle of the Blues, a 12-minute documentary capturing this past summer’s blue whales. 

Sean Hastings, policy, information, and management officer at the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary; Rachel Rhodes, marine scientist at the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory at the University of California, Santa Barbara; and John Calambokidis, senior research biologist and one of the founders of Cascadia Research Collection, will also be speaking at the event.

Santa Barbara Channel Whale Heritage Area, with members that include president and owner of the Condor Express Hiroko Benko and Santa Barbara Maritime Museum’s Executive Director Greg Gorga, has participated in several events around town since being awarded the title of Whale Heritage Area by the World Cetacean Alliance, a nonprofit based in the U.K., and World Animal Protection in October 2023. 

Deemed a Whale Heritage Area for “providing and celebrating responsible and sustainable wild whale and dolphin watching,” Whale of a Celebration is a perfect first event that blends all that the team has worked so hard to achieve. “We see this growing and engaging more organizations, more families, more community members to really celebrate our whales,” Lohuis said. 

“Our ultimate goal,” Lohuis said, “is to use part of the proceeds from this upcoming event to host Title 1 schools out on the local boats to give these students their own emotional connection to the ocean.” 

That connection to the ocean is what everyone hopes to find when visiting our city. And it’s why the work of the Whale Heritage Area is so important. 

“We need to appreciate what California beaches should look like as well as knowing that we can coexist and enjoy it for our own recreational opportunities,” said Lohuis. 

For tickets and additional information about the entire Whale of a Celebration, taking place November 22-23, see bit.ly/4fFhQTm.