2026 June General Meeting Minutes

Pacific Beach Coalition
Clean It Out, for Steelhead Trout

June General Meeting

9 June 2026
6 – 7:30 pm @ Sharp Park Public Library in Pacifica, CA

Mission Statement 
Pacific Beach Coalition is dedicated to preserving the ocean, coastal habitat and wildlife, and ending litter through advocacy, education, community-building and citizen action.

2026 May General Meeting Minutes

Meeting opened at 6:04pm

Introductions, Welcome New Friends!

MSI’s Kids Ocean Day was awesome aerial art display of Guitarfish and more great impact to add to our yearly total so far: nearly 4,000 volunteers recovering 4,484 pounds of trash, planting 498 plants, and recycling 54,670 cigarette butts.

Mayor of Pacifica, Christine Boles

  1. The recent damage to our pier is heartbreaking. It is a big part of our identity as a community as well as our individual and collective stories. We are all in mourning. The city is prioritizing safety while trying to figure out what might be possible. These are tough times for Pacifica; I hope we can all come together to find solutions to protect what we love most and work towards a more sustainable future.
  2. Following the pier emergency update, our new City Manager’s recommended budget was the main topic for discussion at the June 8 City Council meeting. Feel free to watch it in entirety here or skip to just before the following times to see individuals speak on PBC behalf:
  3. Check out Pacifica’s weekly newsletter, where you can receive meeting agendas, etc. https://www.cityofpacifica.org/departments/city-manager/connect-with-pacifica

Directors Report

Program Coordinator, Greg Finkelstein

We are welcoming new Site Captains. Join the fun and make a commitment to making a difference.

  • Stewardship highlights; site captain shoutouts
    • Review Butt Buster Plan; 2.5 MILLION Milestone, vapes update
    • Water Warriors leads Bella and Sam will complete CivicSpark fellowship in August
      • Water supply has been reduced due to Public Works focused on pier emergency; looking for alternative solutions until next tank refill
    • Rockaway: May’s turnout was not as robust as the last few months, though we still picked up lots of butts. Started a leaderboard for kids to collect the most butts, great engagement.
    • Mussel Rock: Collected 1,200 pounds of green waste.
    • Foster City: looking at local storage options, bringing extra supplies.
    • San Pedro Creek: one captain is stepping back “I wanted you to know that working at that site is really magical.”
    • Linda Mar: we need June, July, Aug site captain coverage (third Saturday of the month) 
  • July 5 Cleanup
    • San Pedro Creek cleanup scheduled on Saturday, July 4 will proceed as usual 9-11am
    • Sunday, July 5 – Sharp Park, Rockaway, and Pacifica State Beach are scheduled 8-10am
      • We are working with City of Pacifica’s Parks, Beaches & Recreation Department and Police Department on coordinating the Safe and Sane Fireworks Program cleanup, with 12 external groups participating
  • Education: ~4,000 students at assemblies, steelhead trout teacher’s toolkits delivered
    • Contact us about summer school opportunities, and start scheduling back to school fall campaign now
    • In talks with a few schools to setup, host and/or help maintain community gardens that could also serve as native plant nurseries for PBC.
  • Give Backs: ~31 events scheduled, on track with our volume of events, progress on HR and maintaining Rockaway side

Naturalists

  • Whales are here! Best places to see them from land are between the Pier and Mussel Rock. Follow David Chamberlain or Chris Campo on social media for local sightings. Best boat based whale watching tours are out of Moss Landing.
  • Contact numbers for bird entanglement are on the back of Naturalist and Teen nametags
    1. International Bird Rescue: 650.340.7022
    2. Bart Selby: 650.245.1974
    3. Humane Society: 650.340.8200
  • Velella velella still on the beaches, they are white and look even more like plastic. 
  • Naturalist Lauren is moving away, we are looking for a new naturalist to take her place. Contact Julie@pacificbeachcoalition.org if you are interested!
  • Looking at tracking all of the fishing gear & nets that we collect at cleanups.
  • Naturalist Natalie (Pillar Point) led an interesting talk at Maverick’s Beach about seaweed on Saturday, June 6.

Pelican Squad

  • 46 junior site captains currently in program
    • 10 high school seniors are graduating, congratulations
    • 6 new teens at the May training, they have already been engaging in cleanups
    • Next training: June 20 at Esplanade Beach, Pacifica
  • Reviewing tasks/responsibilities, Site Captains please ask your Pelican Squad teens to:
    • Bring an old towel to help clean out buckets
    • Take pictures/videos at your cleanup, engage with volunteers
    • Help count and report cigarette butts

Communications Team

  • Pacifica Pride event recap; CoastPride continues this weekend in Half Moon Bay
  • Editorial Calendar (work in progress); should we share Local Eco Events of Interest?
  • Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities
    • July 5 Cleanup
    • July 27 Kahuna Kupuna
    • August 1 World Dog Surfing Championships 
    • August 29 Waves & Watts
  • Google Forms review; status update, Golden Volunteer option
  • Cora’s sea glass jewelry sold out. She is donating proceeds to PBC.

Roundtable

  • 2027 Earth Honoree selection process
    • Please submit this form with your nominee
    • A selection of nominations will be presented at the next monthly meeting
    • Potential slogans will be finalized by community vote at Fog Fest
  • Fog Fest Planning
    • Call for Volunteers: join the Fog Fest Planning Committee to help coordinate our booth, float, and festivities
    • Float design for Fog Fest
      • Defend our 2025 prize for Best Large Float!
      • Plan to collect old plastic containers to build a fish. Idea is to have a small school of fish in front, that are pulling the larger float. Need 12 large empty detergent bottles (Costco size, or kitty litter size). Fish could be on a carousel going up and down. 
      • Platform includes a model of San Pedro Creek / Bay Area Coastal Watershed
      • Drop off plastic containers at Sara or Cecily’s house

Meeting adjourned at 7:36pm