“We live in a beautiful part of this world with the best beaches in this Country. This I attribute to people caring for and appreciating their environment. It makes good sense as a small business owner to do our part and demonstrate to others what we can do collectively to be as GREEN as possible by taking conscious business practice steps in our daily routine.” – Michael Fisher, Owner, Coronado Taste of Oils
Celebrate Accalia Salon — An Emerald Green, Ocean Blue Business!
“I like sustainable resources as we only have one earth to leave for the next generations.” -- Jessica Kephart, Accalia Salon
Celebrate High Tide Bottle Shop and Kitchen — Our New Emerald Green Ocean Blue Business
“We use recycled containers from a company called The Bottlebox. The reusable takeout containers use post-consumer reprocessed PET(polyethylene terephthalate), which has a lower carbon footprint and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 60%. We like to think making sure takeout containers don’t end up in a landfill makes the pizza even yummier.” - Tom Latona, High Tide Bottle Shop and Kitchen
September Emerald Keepers of the Month: Co-Owner Emerald City, Kelly Kraus and GM, Bryan Gutter
Helping Coronado become a sustainable city since 2010, Emerald City Surf Shop earns September’s designation of Emerald Keeper of the Month. Two blocks north of the Hotel Del Coronado, Emerald City—a moniker derived fromCoronado’s evergreen surf and ties to the Wizard of Oz—opened in 1988, the brainchild of brothers Kelly and Larry Kraus. They sell a wide array of skate and surf supplies and apparel and offer surf and beach equipment for rent. They love Coronado and do their best to help it thrive.
The 90 solar panels on the shop’s roof caught Emerald Keepers’ attention, and we asked co- owner Kelly Kraus what motivated him to install solar power. “It’s the right thing to do. It saves you money, yes. But more importantly, it’s the right thing to do. We also put solar panels on our own house.” Saving money and reducing consumption with solar for over a decade—a win for Coronado and Kraus.
Kraus has made other moves to give Emerald City a sustainable footprint, and he has noticed many of the brands he sells move in eco-friendly directions. Emerald City uses only paper bags in the store; they are bulkier to store and cost more, but the store does its best to minimize plastic use. Because the bags are paper, Kraus’s son does most of the bag-stamping with Emerald City’s logo. The shop has filtered water in the break room so that staff can avoid bottled water. As far as the products Emerald City sells, Kraus sees a positive trend of reducing plastics: more sandals now use cardboard hangers rather than plastic, smaller items like surf wax use paper wrapping, and more nylon clothing is recycled. Eco-friendliness is a hallmark of surf gear’s marketing. “There is definitely more consumer awareness that being more ecologically sound is what they want, and many companies are taking action on that,” says Kraus.
An avid surfer in Coronado and Imperial Beach, Kraus observes positive trends. More people pick up trash as a matter of course, and improvements at the Mexican border are starting to mitigate the sewage flow from the Tijuana River.
Buying local keeps us out of our cars—reducing Coronado’s carbon footprint and promoting another Emerald Keeper goal. If you’re looking for surf/skate gear, look no further than Emerald City. “This family owned shop was created by surfers, is operated by surfers, caters to surfers, and HAS A PRICE MATCHING POLICY to prove it.”
Thank you, Emerald City Surf Shop, for helping keep Coronado Emerald Green, Ocean Blue.
Emerald Keepers of the Month: Cindy Elledge and David Brummitt
“Living by the Ferry Landing we see so much trash, and we know it ends up out in the bay. It is something we are tired of seeing, so we decided to start doing something about it.” – Cindy Elledge
Although you can become an Emerald Keeper by a variety of environmentally friendly pursuits that include composting, recycling, eliminating single-use plastics and going solar, one of the easiest ways is to collect trash whenever and wherever you find it. Taking the Emerald Keepers pledge (emeraldkeepers.org) has as one of its suggestions picking up at least three pieces of trash every day.
The Emerald Keepers of the Month for August have certainly taken to heart this suggestion. Living near the Ferry Landing, Coronado residents Cindy Elledge and David Brummitt can be found two to three times a week with bags and pickers in hand collecting trash starting from the public pier outside of Peohe’s, in front of Il Fornaio, along the Broadstone to the Marriott Hotel and sometimes all the way to the Bridge. They begin working at the edges of the walkway where the picking is easy. More finesse is needed when they pull out trash that has gotten stuck and wedged into the rocks below the walkway. Not satisfied with picking three pieces of trash, they can fill as many of 5-6 bags with all sizes of bottles, beer cans, plastic utensils and bags, socks, fishing line, diapers, Styrofoam cups and food containers.
By picking up trash several times a week, they are hoping to encourage others residents and tourists as well as the local businesses to follow their example for a cleaner Coronado and bay. As Elledge explained, “We see so much trash, and we know it ends up out in the bay, so we decided to do something about it.” Brummitt adds, “It’s one little thing anyone can do!”
Elledge and Brummitt, having grown up in Coronado, were probably first introduced by their mothers, who were friends. They dated in high school and college before taking different personal and career paths. They reconnected about ten years ago through a mutual classmate and have been together ever since. Their interest in the environment and sustainable practices has also come as a result of seeing a variety of documentaries and articles on sea-level-rise, the proliferation of plastics use, green-building materials, and coral reef health.
A side benefit of trash-picking, as stated by Elledge, “Often 2-4 people will thank us for what we are doing.”
Congratuations Emerald Keepers of the Month, Cindy Elledge and David Brummitt,
Dan'l Steward - Emerald Keeper of the Month
How many days a year do you drive to work? For Dan’l Steward, he can count on one hand the number of times he has driven to work during the past 40 years– ever! As a bicycle commuter, Dan’l figures he has helped the planet by not contributing greenhouse gases or air pollution to the atmosphere and has physically benefitted from his bicycle habit.
In addition to being a bicycle commuter, Dan’l can be found on the water sculling a few mornings a week before sunrise. He always leaves the beach and parking lot cleaner than he found it. Over the years he has picked up hundreds of beer cans, wine bottles, soda cans, and bags. Dan’l has also cleaned the beach for the past 23 years with the Rotary Club of Coronado. Each month, he fills approximately four big buckets full of trash from the rocks. That’s over 1,100 buckets of trash Dan’l has removed in addition to his daily litter clean up.
You may recognize Dan’l as the guy who sat in the tree on the 100 block of E Avenue when the City decided to cut down magnificent 100 year-old Eucalyptus trees. His action saved the trees. While the residents lost four trees, the City planted eight additional Eucalyptus trees and designated one of the tallest trees as a heritage tree and the 100 block of E Avenue as the Eucalyptus Tree Street.
On July 1st, Dan’l rode his bicycle one last time to the Naval Amphibious Base where he has spent much of his career with Naval Special Warfare --both as an active duty officer and civilian. It was his final day of work. Over the years he has run tens of thousands of miles on the Navy beach where he picked up trash and saved injured shore birds. On multiple occasions Dan’l has scooped up injured birds (some quite large) in his shirt and run back to sick-bay where a corpsman has helped him untangle the birds from fishing gear and hooks. He is proud that all birds he helped save survived.
In honor of Dan’l Steward’s retirement, please pick up three pieces of trash, ride your bike rather than drive, and admire the giant trees on the 100 Block of E Avenue. Happy retirement and congratulations on being our July Emerald Keeper of the Month!
Congratulations to our Fourth of July Clean-Up Drawing Winners
Congratulations to our drawing winners: Karen Laedlein, Lennon Fortmann, Diane and Paul Rutherford, Andrea Sager, Michelle Bjorklund and Sarah Jones! Thank you to everyone who sent photos to be entered into our drawing! Everyone won $50 in Coronado Currency. Thank you to all Emerald Keepers who picked up trash following the Fourth of July Weekend.
Emerald Keepers of the Month: Rotary Club of Coronado and its Committee to Protect the Environment
For Coronado locals and visitors alike, it is not unusual to see Rotarians in blue vests placing flags along Orange Ave, and more and more these days, at Central Beach, Tidelands Park and along the Bay at the Cays and the Strand.
Emerald Keepers would like to recognize the Rotary Club of Coronado as June 2021’s Emerald Keepers of the Month. Historically, for decades, Coronado Rotarians have reached out to help the environment through service projects such as those monthly Saturday Beach Clean-ups, planting trees, and helping enhance local school grounds on Rotarians at Work Days.
Even in the midst of a year marked by a ruthless pandemic, Rotarians rallied to educate and take action to protect the environment. Coronado Rotary’s commitment to environmental sustainability was strengthened by a new primary focus for Rotarians in service clubs around the world.
Coronado Rotary’s Committee to Protect the Environment (CPE) started in the summer of 2020. Emerald Keepers applauds this growing committee (now with 29 active members) that is dedicated to direct action, education, and service projects supporting the environment. In just one year that was greatly affected by the pandemic, the committee has none-the-less brought valuable educational information to the Rotary Club through ZOOM, and provided safe opportunities for committee members and many additional Rotarians to participate in events that have benefited our local community.
Since the CPE committee started events in September, the group has held over 35 clean-ups in Coronado and on the Strand, as well as a clean-up across the bay with the Eastlake Rotary Club. Through 115 volunteer hours, 436 buckets of trash were collected. This total equals 2,180 gallons of trash kept out of our bay and ocean!
Passionately dedicated to direct action, education, and service projects that support the environment, the Coronado Rotary Committee to Protect the Environment presented information about many topics at club meetings on Zoom. Each virtual meeting was attended by more than 100 members during the past year. Topics included: avoiding single use plastic; green holiday Ideas; water use and conservation, Project Drawdown: lowering GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions; End Plastic Soup – a Rotary Initiative to reduce plastic in the oceans; impact on the environment of single-use plastic bottles; Plover & Tern nesting season: protecting our shores; saving energy at home; pollinators: plants, life cycle, and migration; composting. and food waste- its impact on the environment.
Asked what inspired her to take on a leadership role in Coronado Rotary’s efforts to protect the environment, CPE chairperson, Zayanne Thompson replied, “My dad was a Rotarian for over 50 years and I grew up with volunteering and service in my blood. I also love the outdoors and am passionate about education and the environment. This new area of service fits perfectly! Protecting the environment is vital to the other areas of focus for Rotary, and also for the health and future of our planet. We cannot have peace, healthy kids, clean water, disease prevention, economic development, etc. without a healthy, equitable, and sustainable environment.”
Emerald Keeper of the Month: Jack Medved, Artist and Scientist
Jack Medved shared his sea animal drawings with Emerald Keepers in 2019. Several of his drawings were featured on our educational page in the Eagle & Journal as a coloring page early in the pandemic to give school children something fun to do.
We caught up with Jack on Earth Day during the Chalk Walk where he was chalking Earth Day messages and animals.
“Jack a person who experiences autism,” said Jack’s mom, Maria Nagy. “He lost most the use of his hand when he was young. He had multiple therapies to work on his hand strength. When he was about eleven, we discovered he was passionate about drawing things he was interested in – mostly animals.”
When asked if he knew anything about sea turtles, Jack responded:
“These harmless shy animals are sea reptiles like sea snakes and marine iguanas. Because they are reptiles, they are coldblooded and they breathe air like we do. They can hold their breath for 40 minutes on a deep dive, so they go up to the surface using their noses to breathe. Speaking of Emerald, it kind of reminds me of a turtle that has to do with that -- the green sea turtle! These kinds live in temperate waters. Sadly, all sea turtles are endangered but happily they are able to survive. Sea turtles really need to be protected.”
Emerald Keepers was impressed with his encyclopedic knowledge of animals. Jack submitted several of his drawings to the library. Teen Librarian, Tara Davies said, “I really loved receiving Jack’s poster contest submission, not just for the art work but all the Emerald Keepers tips. It was so nice to get to meet him in person on Earth Day and learn he is a frequent library patron!”
Jack is a resident artist at Revision in Hillcrest. He has some animal stickers and environmental stickers, and his own an endangered animal coloring book. Jack has put together a packet of these special items for a drawing for all people who have signed Emerald Keepers’ pledge to be an Emerald Keeper on the website:www.emeraldkeepers.org. Drawing will be held June 1. Follow Jack on Instagram: @jacksanimalfunfacts.
Jack’s love of animals and enthusiasm for everyone to be Emerald Keepers has earned him the distinction of being our Emerald Keeper of the Month.
CHS Emerald Keepers Club Makes Saturdays Compost Days
The garden is up and running and the compost is back!
Parker Keyes Finds Treasure at Sting Ray Point
When Parker Keyes contacted Emerald Keepers at the beginning of the school year, he wanted to volunteer to fulfill his high school community service requirement. As we were in the middle of a pandemic, Emerald Keepers suggested he help by picking up marine debris on Coronado’s beaches. Parker got right to work.
“I signed up to pick up trash for Emerald Keepers this year because I wanted to contribute to my local community,” said Keyes.
Parker said he did not expect to find so much plastic. Sadly, there was no shortage of plastic bags, plastic wrappers, plastic utensils, plastic bottles, and plastic zip ties. Cumulatively, Parker has spent over 20 hours cleaning the beaches.
“I didn’t realize how much trash was on the beaches, particularly Stingray Point, until I started filling up Hefty trash bags in mere minutes,” said Keyes. “It made me realize how much of a problem pollution is and what I can do to help keep the community clean.”
While picking up trash at Stingray Point, something in the sand caught Parker’s eye. He reached down and picked up an identification tag of an Army Air Corps Serviceman inscribed with the name Roy A. Roesch.
Parker described what he did next. “My parents helped me find Mr. Roesch’s family by using Google to search for his Army Number along with his name. The army number indicated Mr. Roesch was from Ohio and served in WWII. We then Googled Mr. Roesch’s name and Ohio. We found an obituary for his wife, and in that article found the name of his daughter Kathi Crabtree of Fayetteville, Arkansas. We then found Mrs. Crabtree’s name in the white pages.”
When Parker called Kathi Crabtree, he explained he was a student at Francis Parker High School working with Emerald Keepers to clean Coronado’s beaches, and that he had found a tag that he thought my might belong to her father.
“I found out that Mr. Roesch was a B-17 bomber pilot who flew 29 missions over Germany in World War II,” said Keyes. “Also, Mrs. Crabtree told me that her father was shot down over the English Channel, taken prisoner, and eventually escaped from a POW camp.”
Ms. Crabtree indicated she has had no knowledge of her father ever being in California, and, as you might suspect, was delighted to hear Parker had found her father’s tag.
It is amazing to think that after all these years, bay dredgings, sand movement, and the untold number of people who have visited Stingray Point, the tag revealed itself on a day Parker was serving as an Emerald Keeper. Through his community service for Francis Parker, Parker Keyes learned the importance of keeping plastics out of our bay and ocean and an added lesson about the importance of reaching out to others to return a lost item.
“This experience brought me closer to a special part of history, and I feel proud to have reunited a treasured personal item to a total stranger,” said Parker.
Congratulations and thank you, Parker for cleaning our beaches and going the extra mile to return a treasured family heirloom. You are April’s Emerald Keeper of the Month!
Sharp Coronado Hospital: Emerald Green, Ocean Blue
Sharp Coronado Hospital is not merely a center for healing and health care. It also focuses on mindfulness and sustainability. Sharp Coronado Hospital is Emerald Keepers’ newest Emerald Green, Ocean Blue Business andRestaurant. Making this designation a priority, CEO of Sharp Coronado Hospital, Susan Stone, stressed, “We definitely have made huge progress in this area. It has been a journey.”
The team at Sharp Coronado has successfully reduced their collective impact on the environment through actions that include:
· Campus-wide LED lighting upgrades.
· The Villa earned an Energy Star Certified Building Award
· The facilities earning the Energy Star Building Recognition for the 8th straight year.
· Installation of water bottle filling stations (On the 3rd floor alone, nearly 7,000 bottles have been saved).
· Implementing numerous waste reduction and recycling projects.
· Continued participation in Sharp Health Care “All Ways Green” initiatives.
· Converting the patient belonging bag to reusable or paper bag.
Stone credits Ken Gibson, Engineering Director, with reducing energy consumption and helping Sharp Coronado Hospital earn the coveted Energy Star. Gibson said, “This is for the future, all the families here, and the future of our world. If everyone does their part, it makes the world a little better. We are saving energy and reducing greenhouse gases.”
Stone is especially proud of the hospital’s effort to make The Mindful Cafe at Sharp Coronado Hospital Emerald Green, Ocean Blue. They have eliminated straws, use sustainable takeout containers, and only dispense plastic cutlery upon request. The Mindful Café uses best practices for recycling and energy efficiency and offers healthy plant-based options.
Emphasizing that becoming Emerald Green, Ocean Blue was a team effort. Chief Financial Operating Officer and strong advocate for sustainability, Fahd Benjalil said, “It is important for us to reduce our carbon footprint not only for this generation but for generations to come.”
In addition to Sharp Coronado Hospital facilities being Emerald Green, Ocean Blue, their Coronado Vaccine Clinic became Emerald Green, Ocean Blue after encouraging volunteers and staff to bring refillable bottles to eliminate single-use water bottles. They also eliminated paper registration by moving to electronic check-in.
“Being Emerald Green, Ocean Blue is a priority for us because our passion is improving the health of our community and our community can only be healthy if our planet is healthy,” explained Stone. “In this beach community, it is so important that we contribute to improving the health of our planet. By working together to reduce our impact on the planet and help this beautiful community be healthy and well, we are securing the health of many, many future generations.”
Congratulations, Sharp Coronado Hospital!
Emerald Keepers Celebrates 2 Year Anniversary
Emerald Keepers of the Month: Eve DePree and NAB Neighbors
For Eve DePree and her NAB neighbors on Rendova Circle, cleaning their beach is more than just way of making a difference, it is a way to connect with each other.
When Eve moved into her home on Rendova Circle on the Naval Amphibious Base almost three years ago, a friend told her how they used to have beach cleanups. When the first big winter storm hit and marine debris covered their beach, Eve began hosting cleanups with her neighbors. She said, “It took us months to clean it all up, but we did.”
Eve’s cleanups are often followed by a campfire on the beach with s’mores and an outdoor movie. In a close-knit Navy community, people take care of each other. Deployments can be long and frequent for many families. DePree said, “The beach cleanups and bonfires are a great way to create community with our neighbors.” The community they have created makes Rendova Circle a special place to live.
The NAB Neighbors have their own FaceBook page. This is where Eve informs neighbors about upcoming cleanups. During the lockdown last spring, cleaning the beach became a way to connect with neighbors. Hosting cleanups is a win-win-win: beaches are cleaner, children learn community service, and camaraderie flows across all ages.
“We usually get between ten and twenty neighbors for each cleanup,” said Eve. “We have lights in the trees and the firepit—making it even more fun!”
Neighbors arrive with buckets and get right to work. Eve supplies gloves. Neighbors of all ages enjoy the cleanups and the sense of community. It is clear they take pride in their beach and neighborhood. The Navy housing group, Lincoln Military Housing, provides extra trash pick-ups and dumpsters in support of these cleanups.
Last spring when a juvenile elephant seal washed up on their beach, they called SeaWorld. The SeaWorld Animal Rescue Team responded, picked up the elephant seal that had become lost from its mother. They also spoke to the Rendova tenants about what they do and how they care rescued marine life.
Emerald Keepers was pleased to be invited to speak at a recent NAB Neighbors cleanup. These neighbors already know what it means to be Emerald Keepers, giving of themselves and taking joy in their contribution to the environment.
Congratulations to Eve DePree and the NAB Neighbors for being our March Emerald Keepers of the Month!
Congratulations, Sharp Coronado Vaccine Clinic - Our Newest Emerald Green, Ocean Blue Business!
“Initially we were filling out a lot of paperwork and we wanted to reduce the amount of waste with the paper so we went to computers. We reduced all the paper for our check in.” – Jennifer Cordova, Site Supervisor
“We send emails to all of our volunteer staff members to make sure that they bring a reusable water bottle. That way we don’t have a lot of plastic. We use reusable water bottles, and we keep everything environmentally friendly.” – Ana Ramirez, Volunteer Coordinator
