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SR-510-002 (8) EPWM:CP:BJ:F:EPWM/ADMIN/STAFFRPT/PUBLICOUTREACH1.WPD1/31/2003 Council Meeting: February 11, 2003 Santa Monica, California TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: City Staff SUBJECT: Agreements with BayKeeper and Heal the Bay to Provide Environmental Education and Outreach Services to Santa Monica Students and Support Operation of the Ocean Discovery Center at Santa Monica Pier INTRODUCTION This report recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute agreements with Baykeeper and Heal the Bay to provide environmental education and outreach services to Santa Monica students, and support operation of the Ocean Discovery Center at Santa Monica Pier. The report also provides information on City-funded environmental education programs provided by other organizations and consultants during the current fiscal year. All of these services and programs are appropriately funded by the City?s Wastewater, Water, Refuse and Stormwater funds. BACKGROUND The Environmental Programs Division assumes the principle responsibility for Sustainable City Program (SCP) activities and advocacy. One of the Guiding Principles of the Sustainable City Program is the prioritization of education and 1 outreach programs to encourage shifts in community behavior towards more sustainable practices. Each year, EPD staff develops a strategic outreach plan consistent with the elements of this Guiding Principle. This plan provides the basis for the division?s outreach resource and budget allocations. DISCUSSION This fiscal year?s education and outreach opportunities focus on students at all grade levels throughout the community. The division?s outreach programs prioritize opportunities with school age children and young adult students for several reasons: they are active participants in learning institutions; the concepts and practice of sustainability are relevant to curriculum in a wide variety of social and technical science classes; and students are generally found to be eager, interested and receptive. This year?s proposed educational outreach programs reflect a mix of ongoing efforts combined with selected new programs which provide age-appropriate educational opportunities for students from elementary school through college. Due to the City?s proximity to the ocean and the high value the community places in the protection of Santa Monica Bay, many programs are beach and ocean based. All programs described below are offered to schools on a voluntary basis, so that educators may choose to participate based upon their academic obligations and community interests. 2 BayKeeper The activity proposed to be undertaken by BayKeeper is their on-going Kelp Educational Program. This program educates middle school students about urban impacts on the local marine environment. It was developed in conjunction with BayKeeper's coastal kelp reforestation program and involves in-class experiments with kelp germination as well as a field trip by boat to the reforestation site. BayKeeper makes in-class presentations to approximately 18 classes of 6th grade students (about 450 students total) focusing on the investigation of local marine phyla, animal taxonomy and physiology, biodiversity, urban runoff and sources of pollution. BayKeeper also assists with in-class cultivation of living kelp specimens which are later transplanted into coastal kelp beds in Santa Monica Bay as a component of a multi- year bay restoration effort. Staff recommends that the City enter into an agreement with BayKeeper in an amount not to exceed $19,200 for support of this scope of services. Heal the Bay Staff proposes that the City enter into an agreement with Heal the Bay to provide two education-related projects. The first, Heal the Bay's annual "Bay Days" community event, is in its fifth year. Bay Days is a free, one-day public event held in Santa Monica with an ocean-related environmental theme. The event includes a variety of environmental activities: a children's march, beach clean up, arts & crafts, marine 3 aquarium displays, various educational booths (including a City of Santa Monica booth), and lifeguard and CPR demonstrations. Bay Days reaches out to local residents and visitors with a message of how to have fun in the sun and surf with respect for coastal communities and the ocean. Staff recommends funding this event in the amount of $5,000. Heal the Bay's marine environmental education program, Key to the Sea, is in its third year. Key to the Sea provides a combination of teacher professional development, classroom enrichment and experiential learning for kindergarten through fourth grade students about ocean pollution prevention, coastal stewardship and beach safety. This program provides approximately 350 Santa Monica student visits to the Ocean Discovery Center each year and classroom presentations from Heal the Bay?s speakers bureau. Staff recommends funding for the Key to the Sea program services in an amount not to exceed $10,000. For the past several years, UCLA has staffed, funded and operated the UCLA Ocean Discovery Center at Santa Monica Pier. Due to budget cutbacks forced by a significant loss in State funding to higher education, UCLA has decided to cease all financial and operational responsibility for the Ocean Discovery Center (ODC) as of March 1, 2003. Upon learning of the imminent demise of the ODC, Heal the Bay began negotiations with UCLA in the hope of devising an interim strategy for the ODC to remain open to the public and available as an important environmental resource to the region and 4 allow time for a restructuring of the operational and financial plans to achieve long-term financial stability for the facility. As a result of these discussions, Heal the Bay has formulated a viable interim operational plan for the period between March 1 and June 30, 2003, allowing the facility to remain open while a permanent restructuring plan is finalized. Due to the importance of the Ocean Discovery Center as an educational tool for the ongoing water quality and pollution prevention initiatives of the City, Environmental Programs Division staff have determined that existing budgeted funds in the amount of $48,000 should be reprogrammed at this time to directly assist Heal the Bay with approximately 40% of the required interim funding for the ODC between March 1 and June 30, 2003. City staff will also lend advice and expertise to Heal the Bay over the next few months (prior to July 1, 2003) as a new financial and operational structure for the ODC is developed and implemented. Other Program Support In addition to the programs noted above, the City will sponsor and/or participate in other environmental education/outreach efforts. The table below presents a summary of other programs for the current fiscal year funded from existing Environmental Programs Division budget accounts. 5 Educational Implementing Age Approximate Program Organization Level Cost____ School Garden Project School District K - 8 $15,000 Teacher Training Prog. Center for Environ. Ed. Adult $9,500 Household Haz Waste City staff and consultants All $2,000 Total: $26,500 BUDGET/FINANCIAL IMPACT The total combined cost of the proposed BayKeeper and Heal the Bay education/outreach projects as well as financial support for operation of the Ocean Discovery Center is $82,200. Funding for these programs is appropriately provided by the Wastewater, Water, Refuse and Stormwater funds. Budgeted funds are available in the amount of $82,200 in Environmental Programs Division account number 31662.522540. RECOMMENDATION This report recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute agreements with BayKeeper and Heal the Bay to provide environmental education and outreach services to Santa Monica students, and support operation of the Ocean Discovery Center at Santa Monica Pier 6 Prepared by: Craig Perkins, Environmental and Public Works Director Brian J. Johnson, Environmental Programs Manager 7