2009 Coastal Champion Awards

Coastkeeper is proud to celebrate the accomplishements of this year's Coastal Champion Honorees.

Coastal Champion Business Honoree - Hubbell and Hubbell Architects
Coastal Champion Youth Honoree - Fish for Thought, Mara Bickett and Becky Deller
Coastal Champion Community Honorees - Dr. Tony Haymet, Director, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
                                                               - Margarita Diaz, Proyecto Fronterizo de Educacion Ambiental

The coveted Coastal Champion Awards are given annually to dedicated community, business and youth leaders throughout the San Diego whose outstanding accomplishments have helped to protect and restore our coastal environment.

Coastal Champion Business Honoree

Hubbell and Hubbell Architects
Hubbell & Hubbell Architects exemplifies the happy coexistence of strikingly beautiful design and environmentally-sustainable building practices. The firm’s design of the Elfin Forest Interpretive Center is a masterpiece of natural lighting, passive heating and cooling systems, and a living roof of low-water plants. Through innovative design Hubbell & Hubbell has preserved modern conveniences while also protecting our valuable natural resources, all in a harmoniously aesthetic facility that honors the unique natural setting. Their design for the Friends Center was developed as a showcase “green building,” using rainwater capture technology, solar power, and energy-efficient techniques. The design won glowing reviews and is expected to achieve LEED certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. Hubbell & Hubbell’s Pacific Portal Gazebo at Shelter Island uses low-water succulent gardens to harmonize with the surrounding views of the San Diego Bay. Coastkeeper is proud to honor Hubbell & Hubbell Architects, a San Diego icon in art, architecture, and environmental responsibility.

Honorable Mention

Regency Centers Corporation
Through Regency Centers Corporation’s greengenuity ™ program, the company implemented “smart” irrigation controllers and installed new plumbing fixtures. Together, these changes are expected to reduce water consumption by an impressive 40 percent (6.8 million gallons per year). The most efficient way to increase our water supply in the future is to consume less water now. Coastkeeper applauds Regency Centers for doing their part for San Diego County’s water security.

Coastal Champion Youth Honoree

Fish for Thought, Mara Bickett & Becky Deller
Fish for Thought is an environmental art project that raises awareness about the negative impact trash has on our oceans and marine life in elementary school students, their families and the community. Mara Bickett, Becky Deller and Sara Wingate, parents from Del Mar Hills Academy, conceived of a project in which grade K-6 schoolchildren would collect trash from the beach and home and turn it into beautiful artwork to highlight the problem of trash on our beaches. At an educational assembly, children discussed the problems caused by plastic in the ocean and the need to reduce, reinvent, reuse, and recycle. More than 400 Del Mar elementary school students worked with recycled trash artist Rodrigo, aka, Rodney McCoubrey to create their masterpieces on used recycled wood fish "blanks.” With help from the Del Mar Lifeguards, the fish were mounted on sticks and planted every 10 feet, lining the one-mile length of Del Mar beach. On May 30th, the project culminated in the "Fish Sticks" exhibition, accompanied by a community beach clean-up, and brought a poignant visual message about environmentalism to the greater Del Mar community. Coastkeeper is pleased to recognize Fish for Thought for educating the community and empowering students to become the environmental stewards of tomorrow.

Honorable Mention

Commission on Science that Matters at the Elementary Institute of Science
Student participants in the Elementary Institute of Science’s Commission on Science that Matters “Water Initiative” explored water conservation and management by attending presentations by local experts, conducting regular clean-up activities in Chollas Creek, and creating a report that recommends ways to address the problems they encountered. In a unique collaboration with the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, students created an employee pamphlet to guide the proper disposal of waste. Lifelong learning, community involvement, and close collaboration with government and business are just a few of the reasons that these students exemplify Coastkeeper’s values and Coastkeeper congratulates them as true Coastal Champions.

The Torrey Pines High School Global Green Partnership, Ms. Charlie Reed, President
Charlie Reed leads the Global Green Partnership, a youth-run club at Torrey Pines High School that focuses on environmental conservation, awareness, and education, within both the student body and the surrounding community. Since the Global Green Partnership was founded just a few years ago, the students have worked with the principal, administration, and staff to install recycling bins on campus, organize monthly beach clean ups, and switch to recycled paper in the student media center. Global Green Partnership members “aspire to become leaders in the Green Movement of our generation.” Coastkeeper happily attests that Ms. Charlie Reed has already earned this distinction.

Coastal Champion Community Honorees

Margarita Diaz Lopez, Director, Proyecto Fronterizo de Educación Ambiental
As Director of Proyecto Fronterizo de Educación Ambiental, a non-profit environmental conservation and advocacy organization in Playas de Tijuana, Margarita Diaz works tirelessly to improve and protect beach and coastal health in Mexico and the United States. Water quality in San Diego County is drastically affected by activities on both sides of the border. Ms. Diaz's leadership ensures that water quality monitoring, coastal cleanup days, public workshops, and citizen watchdog groups flourish throughout the region to reduce pollution of waterways that flow directly to the Pacific Ocean. As a long-time committee member of the Environmental Education Council for the Californias, she fosters collaboration among environmental education programs throughout the border region. Margarita’s leadership in the San Diego/Tijuana region is a model for the selfless protection of our region’s precious coastal ecosystem. Coastkeeper is proud to work side-by-side with such a dedicated environmental activist. Gracias, Margarita.

Dr. Tony Haymet, Director, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Dr. Tony Haymet has been Director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Vice Chancellor for Marine Sciences, and Dean of the Graduate School of Marine Sciences at the University of California, San Diego, for three years. In that brief time, Dr. Haymet has made a significant impact on scientific and education communities throughout San Diego County, while also maintaining Scripps’ reputation as a vibrant, independent scientific institution. Today, there exists almost no water quality or water supply issue in the region that does not benefit from the contribution of Scripps and Dr. Haymet’s leadership. As an expert and frequent speaker on global climate change issues, his expertise helps us connect climate change with water management. This matter among many—including Coastkeeper’s efforts to stem the tide of marine debris and implement marine protected areas throughout the county—are greatly enhanced through collaboration with Dr. Haymet and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Coastkeeper is proud to recognize Dr. Haymet for his passion, knowledge, and leadership in finding solutions to San Diego’s pressing water issues.