Orange County Coastkeeper

Our mission is to protect swimmable, drinkable, fishable water and promote watershed resilience throughout our region.

Orange County Coastkeeper was founded in 1999 by Garry Brown, an Orange County native who remembers abundant abalone, catching bonito and barracuda from the piers, and digging for clams along the beach in Newport as a young boy. Realizing that his sons could not enjoy the same coastal waters as he had, Mr. Brown established Orange County Coastkeeper, which became the 27th Waterkeeper to be licensed in the United States.
The concept of "waterkeepers" dates back to 19th-century England, where self-appointed fishermen acted as wardens of private streams to ensure that the waters were healthy, abundant, and safe from poachers. In 1983, fisherman John Cronin founded the Hudson Riverkeeper, and today there are over 200 Waterkeeper organizations worldwide. Each Waterkeeper is a nonprofit corporation with its own operating budget and Board of Directors.
Coastkeeper works to achieve its mission through numerous education programs that promote environmental stewardship, advocating for coastal issues at all levels of government, restoration of threatened marine habitats, enforcement of the Federal Clean Water Act and other environmental laws by working with regulatory agencies and industrial polluters, and promoting sustainable development that uses advanced water management technology to minimize environmental impact.  

Coastkeeper implements a variety of programs in five areas: education, advocacy, restoration, research, and enforcement. The following are a few examples of our core programs, projects, and accomplishments:

Through our education programs, Kids Care, WHALES, and Kids Ocean Day, our team reaches 5,000 students and 55 schools. Our education programs engage under-resourced schools in watershed-based curriculum and field trips.
Coastkeeper plays a major role in the Marine Life Protection Act’s proposal of the South Coast study region. Through the collaboration with community groups, businesses, and other stakeholders, we conduct educational outreach and train volunteers to perform MPA Watches.
Restoration staff work throughout the year to restore critical coastline and marine habitats. Our current projects include oyster restoration, where we partner with restaurants, community members, and Yacht Clubs to recycle oyster shells and create shell strings to restore the native Olympia oyster population.
Coastkeeper offers community events through its Cleanup OC program. We host 2 monthly beach cleanups and creek/channel cleanups throughout the year. This program is open to everyone and inspires our community members to become environmental stewards.
Our enforcement team works to protect the Clean Water Act through litigation.
We also have an Accessibility program that is growing into one of our main pillars. This is our next step in our efforts to restore our coastlines, with the goal of increasing access to California's waterways, harbors, and coastal waters by disbursing funds for beach accessibility equipment. This program removes physical, financial, and social barriers by covering all costs, including accessible transportation, adaptive beach equipment, entrance fees, meals, and trained staff support.

General operating support is essential to Coastkeeper's capacity to deliver impactful programs and sustain itself as an efficient, high-performing organization. Charitable, corporate, and government grants are largely restricted to program expenses; thus, general operating support is a high need area.
The following projects are currently in need of funding.
Education Programs: Our education team provides field trips and service-learning projects to underserved schools at no cost to schools or students. Additional funding would enable us to serve the schools currently on our waiting list.
Restoration Programs: Funds donated to restoration support ongoing efforts, which currently include oyster restoration in Upper Newport Bay and Alamitos Bay in Long Beach. Funds donated to our restoration program help us purchase equipment, hire consultants to study the effectiveness of our restoration efforts, and coordinate the massive volunteer effort required to carry out these activities.
Cleanup OC: Our cleanup programs have grown from 25 volunteers per month to over 700. Donations help expand this program to inland Orange County and cover equipment costs.
Water Quality & Research: Water quality monitoring and research are critical to understanding pollution sources and informing science-based advocacy and enforcement. Funding supports data collection, water-testing equipment, laboratory analysis, field equipment, and staff time needed to monitor coastal and inland waters, assess ecosystem health, and guide effective solutions that protect public health and aquatic life.
Accessibility: Accessibility is an emerging pillar of our work, focused on increasing equitable access to California's waterways, harbors, and coastal waters. Funding supports the removal of physical, financial, and social barriers by covering costs such as adaptive beach equipment, accessible transportation, and ensures that all community members, regardless of ability, can experience and connect with the coast we work to protect.

Orange County Coastkeeper focuses its efforts on the county's 11 watersheds, which collectively cover 950 square miles and are home to approximately 3 million people. Coastkeeper's high school watershed education program, in particular, serves schools in inland communities, which largely lack the resources for outdoor education and hands-on science educational experiences. In addition, Coastkeeper manages an Inland Empire Waterkeeper program, which works to protect the watersheds of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. Inland Empire Waterkeeper has its own staff, advisory board, and annual operating budget of approximately $135,000.

Orange County Coastkeeper is the only nonprofit organization in the region working on the water to protect our marine habitats and watersheds. What is additionally distinctive about our work is our long-standing success collaborating directly with leaders in business and government to establish realistic, achievable goals.

Orange County Coastkeeper's vision is to preserve the integrity of our communities by ensuring clean waterways, harbors, and coastal waters, along with a healthy water supply for generations to come. We collaborate with a variety of stakeholders and believe that environmental solutions are also smart business solutions. Our unique community-wide approach to watershed management promotes equitable, achievable strategies that meet broad societal goals and avoid future conflicts.