Our website has sadly been hacked into somehow, so we’ve been unable to update our blog. Recently posted an update on my Bring Your Own site, which I’m importing here. Soon we’ll repost a summary of the last few weeks. We’re just a few days away from the Tijuana River!
we’ve had some amazing adventures – had our JUNKraft displayed on the steps of the Sacramento Capitol, visited a bunch of legislators to discuss marine debris legislation, met the Mayor of San Francisco, built a zero waste plastic bottle boat in Tiburon, gave a bunch of presentations, met with a group of powerful leaders at Google for an epic plastic brainstorming session, and in between, recharged for a few days in Sonoma/Napa, climbing some killer ascents and wine tasting as a reward.
While we’re sorting our our JUNKride site issues, a quick photo recap of the last few weeks here.
After a wonderful, HOT few days in Chico, where we stayed with the GRUB collective and gave a small talk at the University, we slogged our way to Sacramento – a looong, hot, flat ride, to find JUNKraft diplayed on the front steps of the State Capitol, front and center!
Then on to San Francisco via Napa/Sonoma, relishing in the Elysian fields….here we were treated to some incredible hospitality by Richard Martin of Versant Vineyards. After a grueling hill, Richard greeted us with a phenomenal bottle of his own wine, fed us homemade risotto, grilled asparagus, and a mixed green salad with goat cheese, and gave us a tour of the grounds. 
In San Francisco, we gave a talk with Green Sangha at the Marin Recycling Center, followed by a talk at The Aquarium of the Bay with Surfrider. Both had great turnouts, with energized crowds that we’ve heard have run with the momentum, and begun organizing follow up events. Exactly what we’d hope for.
Some highlights in the Bay:
Presenting Mayor Gavin Newsome with a gyre sample, and having a chance to share Algalita’s research with our next potential California Governor!
Meeting David De Rothschild from Plastiki, chatting about our respective projects, and presenting him with a plastic bottle from JUNKraft:
We hope to return for Plastiki’s launch, and bid the crew fair winds:
Touring the grounds of the Marin Recycling Center, run by local hero Joe Garbarino. Joe has employed some simple, yet time tested recycling methods, like bringing in pigs, chickens, and peacocks (!) to recycle food waste into compost. The creatures also provide a bit of joy and playfulness to the place, lifting everyone’s spirits. 
Joe confirmed what we’ve heard from other recycling centers about where our plastic waste truly goes: either right back to the landfill, like these plastic bags here, or shipped off to China in huge bales. What happens to it next? 
And finally, building a zero waste plastic bottle barge at the Richardson Bay Audubon Center, with a ton of help from Erin Blackwood, who rounded up a bunch of junk materials for us. 
A group of enthused youngters helped finish the boat, launch it in the water, and test its seaworthiness….it worked! Marcus spent the next hour giving boat rides to the kids, who eagerly jumped aboard, while others picked up trash on the beach. All in all, a tremendous success.
We’re now in Santa Cruz, preparing for our next talk in a few hours with Save Our Shores. Tomorrow, we head for Monterey for a series of talks, with the Monterey Institute, MBARI, a local school, and a brown bag for the Monterey Bay Aquarium staff. More updates to come here while we pray for our blog to reappear.
Anna spoke briefly about the issue of plastics and handed Councilman DeLong a sample of the plastic soup from the North Pacific Gyre. We hung around for an hour talking with many wonderful people, including staff and volunteers of our organization, the Algalita Marine Research Foundation. Many familiar faces were present to welcome us home.
