Lakers Staffers Heal the Bay

On a beautiful Wednesday afternoon at Dockweiler State Beach in Playa del Rey, 26 Lakers employees took part in the latest Lakers Team Up initiative, this time tasked with collecting as much trash and debris as possible as one-day members of the Heal the Bay project.

In just under two hours, the staffers removed cigarette butts, wrappers, pumpkin shells and even a tire, totaling over 100 pounds of trash.

"We were excited to team up with Heal the Bay as a part of our ongoing mission to improve our community and show our appreciation for the great support afforded to the Lakers organization over the years," said Jason McDevitt, Lakers Head of Community Relations. "Heal The Bay is a natural partner because the health of our beaches and ocean impacts us all."

A nonprofit environmental organization founded more than 20 years ago by a group of Los Angeles residents looking to curb unchecked pollution and toxicity in the coastal waters and beaches, Heal the Bay aims to "employ sound science, passionate advocacy, effective legislation and wide-reaching education to improve the quality and health of our beaches and waterways."

As Lakers such as general manager Mitch Kupchak and assistant coach John Kuester soon discovered, taking care of the beach isn't just about taking care of your surroundings once you arrive at the ocean.

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"The key thing we like to say is that the beach begins in your front yard," said Heal the Bay Communications Director Matthew King. "Most people don't realize that 80 percent of what winds up in the ocean and on the beach comes from inland sources. It's the small steps people can take in their daily lives to keep their immediate surroundings like their front yards and neighborhoods clean, which is going to have a positive effect upon the ocean down the line."

The reason that trash from one's front yard in Hollywood, Inglewood or Marina del Rey can wind up in the ocean: storm drains. As opposed to cities like New York or Chicago, in which the drains and sewers all go to the same treatment facility, Los Angeles storm drains are a separate entity from sewers, designed to prevent flooding.

As such, the drains can act as chutes of pollution going into the ocean, which makes it all the more important to keep the streets as clean as possible, particularly before a rain storm serves as a catalyst that pushes everything into the sea.

Yet groups like Heal the Bay have made significant progress in recent years, helping to reduce sewage pollution discharged into the Bay by 90 percent since 1985. The organization is proud of its Beach Report Card, which is updated weekly to detail water quality levels for more than 460 beaches, or its Coastal Cleanup Day, which organizes thousands of volunteers in LA County each year.

King estimated that around 20 million people from across the world visit California beaches each year, a major driver for the local economy. And anyone who's been to the beach can attest to the therapeutic/mental release provided by the sand and rolling waves.

What volunteer groups like the Lakers can provide in a few hours isn't going to change the toxicity levels in the water, but Heal the Bay hopes that a larger lesson is learned through the process.

"It's a single day of action, but a lifetime's worth of education," concluded King. "The value of these clean ups raises morale, but more importantly, helps people think of what they can do in their every day lives."