Amanda Sousa earns Volunteer of the Year, six others inducted into Hall of Fame
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SAN DIEGO, Nov. 8, 2010- San Diego Coastkeeper, San Diego’s largest professional environmental organization working to protect inland and coastal waters, announced today its 2010 Volunteer of the Year and six inductees to its Volunteer Hall of Fame.
Pacific Beach Resident Amanda Sousa earns the top honor of San Diego Coastkeeper Volunteer of the Year and is inducted into the Hall of Fame. Sousa has dedicated an astounding number of evenings and weekends to organize beach cleanups, test the region’s waterways for pollution and educate the San Diego community and youth about the importance of ocean conservation.
The six 2010 inductees into the Hall of Fame include:
Taya Lazootin, Oceanside: Lazootin has been involved with San Diego Coastkeeper for over two years and has been a dedicated volunteer monitoring water quality and engaging underserved communities in the process of creating marine protected areas.
Sierra Basegio, Pacific Beach: In addition to regularly monitoring regional water quality, Basegio has been one of San Diego Coastkeeper’s most effective volunteers at engaging the community in the stewardship of inland and coastal waterways.
Kevin Straw, Encinitas: While serving as San Diego Coastkeeper’s Lead Volunteer Boat Captain, Straw has patrolled San Diego’s coastal waterways in search of major pollution incidents and has been instrumental in San Diego Coastkeeper’s outreach efforts to the local boating community.
Megan Stone, Cardiff-by-the-Sea: Stone has volunteered in nearly every aspect of San Diego Coastkeeper’s work and has stood out in her work organizing beach cleanups and coordinating public forums on pressing environmental issues.
James Sebree, Chula Vista: Sebree, a U. S. Navy First Class Petty Officer, has been San Diego Coastkeeper’s beach cleanup rock star. While attending nearly every cleanup himself, he has also engaged his entire command in actively removing trash from our beaches and ocean.
Rebecca Kanter, Pacific Beach: While attending multiple outreach events throughout the county, Rebecca has engaged the community in protecting the health of our oceans, bays, beaches and waterways. She also serves as the lead volunteer in monitoring the water quality in San Diego River.
“San Diego Coastkeeper is extremely lucky to have such a dedicated core of volunteers protecting our inland and coastal waterways,” said Dylan Edwards, San Diego Coastkeeper volunteer and outreach coordinator. “While all of our volunteers deserve recognition, these seven people are role models to the entire community. San Diego is a better place to swim, surf, sail, and live thanks to their efforts.”
San Diego Coastkeeper works with more than 16,000 volunteers on a yearly basis. Volunteers take part in a variety of roles including beach cleanups, water quality monitoring, community outreach, advocacy and educating the next generation of ocean stewards.
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Founded in 1995, San Diego Coastkeeper protects the region’s bays, beaches, watersheds and ocean for the people and wildlife that depend on them. We balance community outreach, education, and advocacy to promote stewardship of clean water and a healthy coastal ecosystem.
