Environmental Defense Center (EDC) announced that its 2024 Environmental Hero award will be presented to Hillary Hauser at the organization’s annual Green and Blue event on Sunday, June 9 at the Stow House in Goleta from 2-5pm.
Hauser is the founder and Executive Director of the Santa Barbara nonprofit Heal the Ocean (HTO), which focuses on wastewater infrastructure (sewers and septic systems notably at the Rincon) and on protecting the marine environment from dumping and other forms of pollution, most lately on the seeping of old oil wells off Summerland.
Prior recipients of the Environmental Hero award include Jane Fonda, Northern Chumash Tribal Council leader Violent Sage Walker, Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard and our own Sierra Club Chapter.
“Hillary has been a force for protection and appreciation of the ocean throughout many different roles in her distinguished career, having a significant impact on our local communities and marine environment,” said EDC Assistant Director Betsy Weber. “As a writer, photojournalist, diver, adventurer, environmental activist, and leader of Heal the Ocean, she has been on the front lines of this fight for more than five decades.”
“In the 28 years Heal the Ocean has been wrangling with environmental issues in Santa Barbara County, the Environmental Defense Center has remained a guiding star,” Hauser said.
In 1988, Hillary wrote about local beaches closing due to pollution in her watershed piece “Another Day at the Beach?” The article ignited a storm of public protest as well as a demonstration at the Santa Barbara County Administration Building. At the protest, Hillary and Jeff Young, a Santa Barbara oyster grower-now-attorney, announced they were founding Heal the Ocean.
This is a significant event for the EDC, bringing together around 500 guests from across the tri-county region. The event raises critical funds for the organization to continue its work protecting the region.
For tickets and details, go to:
www.environmentaldefensecenter.org/gb/