Lagoon Clean Up – 1,570 Pounds of Trash and Weeds Removed!

We LOVE the Agua Hedionda Lagoon – the only lagoon in San Diego County’s lagoon systems that is open to the public; combining recreation, water desalination, energy generation, a research fish hatchery, mussel farm, as well as AHLF’s ongoing watershed stewardship. On Friday, May 6th businesses and individuals came together for a little friendly competition to clean trash out of the lagoon, pull invasive weeds, and compete for the Kahuna trophies.

We are happy to announce that Calsense amassed the most points in Division I to win the title of 2022 Big Kahuna! They were up against Teams Ryan, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Otter Products, CleverMade, Dual, Republic Services , and last year’s winner Bitchin’ Sauce. Carlsbad Young Professionals , sponsored by Grand Pacific Resorts , were the big point winners for Division II becoming the 2022 Little Kahuna! Their competitors included Elm Tax, Develop Your Team, Intesa, Dynamic Space Solutions , and Grand Pacific Resorts. The Mini Kahuna was awarded to National Charity League-Moonlight Division , sponsored by NRG ! They were challenged by Kids for Peace, Kawecki Family, Mindpath Leadership, NRG , and Harmoney. Thank you to EVERYONE who participated for making the Agua Hedionda Lagoon the BIG WINNER due to all of your clean-up efforts!

Oh my, what a day! With three divisions participating in the clean-up and friendly competitions, teams began first thing in the morning heading out on kayaks or paddleboards supplied by California Water Sports to different shores within the inner lagoon, on the lookout for trash and invasive plants. Teams pulled old carpeting out of the muck, sets of tires lodged in the mud, rusted pipes and plastic chairs tucked away on shore, and returned with bags full of cigarette butts and beer cans.

172 bags of trash and weeds were collected and removed by 200 participants!

It wasn’t all work – plenty of fun was had after scouring for garbage! Teams participated in word games, memory games, blindfold cornhole, and water relay races. Sunburned and muscle-sore, each division’s event ended with pizza and beer supplied by Pizza Port . Handel’s Ice Cream was on hand to satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth. Republic Services hauled all the trash away. Brue Endres created the beautiful trophy paddles and Ray Pearson was our awesome announcer.

We couldn’t have done any of this without the support of our Event Sponsors: California Water Sports, Pizza Port, Poseidon, NRG, Grand Pacific Resorts, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Republic Services, Brubaker & Associates, Ryan, Calsense, CleverMade, Otter Products, and Dual.

Each year Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation hosts the Lagoon Clean Up and Lagoona Kahuna Team Challenge to help the lagoon, build team spirit, and raise funds for AHLF’s stewardship programs. With divisions for corporate participation, small businesses, and individuals/families, we want EVERYONE to be able to participate -

Do Good, Have Fun !

Won’t you join us in 2023?

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Members Make It Happen On Saturday, October 17, members of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation gathered at the Discovery Campus for our Annual Members Meeting and the official ribbon cutting of Discovery Island. Thirty two voting memberships were represented as we ratified, re-elected and elected our Board of Directors, celebrated a year of impact, and looked ahead to what comes next for the lagoon and the people who love it. Thank you to Señor Grubby’s for providing the breakfast bar and to Peak Dentistry, our Campus Coffee Sponsor. Our 2026 Board of Directors Members voted on the following board members: Ratified: Laurie Gonzalez, Anne Master, Christina Nichols, Ray Pearson and Mike Stoliker Re-elected: Frank Ortega and Taylor Sais Newly elected: Jenna Dotson and Michael Metts We extended a heartfelt thank you to Julie Gibbs for her two years of leadership as Chairwoman. Julie continues on the board as our Immediate Past Chairwoman. We also welcomed our new executive slate: Chair: Frank Ortega (previously Vice Chair) Vice Chair: Michael Metts Treasurer: Steve Baker (returning) Secretary: Vinit Ahooja (returning) A Year of Impact and a Look Ahead Members reviewed our Annual Impact 2026 report , then turned to the future of our educational programs and our niche: exceptional environmental education. A few highlights: Accreditation: Our certification with the American Camp Association is in process. Little Agua Learners: We are assembling our licensing documents for the Little Agua Learners Licensed Preschool. City designation: We received a designation letter from the City of Carlsbad expanding our business classification from travel serving visitor commercial and gift shop to include education. Fire safety: We completed the fire inspection updates required for licensing. The David C. Copley Foundation: We were invited to apply for the foundation’s invitation only grant in January. Nordson: Big cheers to Nordson for supporting our Academy for Environmental Stewardship with $25,000, and for their partnership with us throughout the year. Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians: The Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians has made a three year commitment at the $5,000 Community Partnership level. California Climate Action Corps: AHLF is proud to be a host site for the California Climate Action Corps, a State of California program. We welcomed a new fellow for the year and look forward to welcoming a winter fellow in January. Thank you to the many community partners who make our work possible. Celebrating Our Board Rookie of the Year: Anne Master. Anne jumped in from day one. She has shown up to every event and took on the review and editing of our bylaws. The updated bylaws are now available on our website . Board Member of the Year: Frank Ortega. Frank volunteers twice a week on campus and on the trails, and no job is too dirty for him. One moment stands out: on one of the hottest days of the year, Frank helped carry a refrigerator up 17 flights of stairs. All in the name of service. Thank you, Frank! Discovery Island Is Officially Open The Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce joined us to cut the ribbon on Discovery Island, our newest exhibit space at the Discovery Campus. We were honored to receive a proclamation from Senator Catherine Blakespear’s office marking the occasion. Kent Zapata shared remarks as we officially announced the opening. Kent is supporting one of Discovery Island’s featured exhibits, Jennifer Muller’s Water Lab, with a pledge of $5,000 a year for two years. The Water Lab honors the memory of Jennifer Muller, whose passion for clean water and STEM education continues to inspire young engineers, scientists and environmental warriors. The Water Lab will be an interactive water station where visitors and students watch water move through different substrates. It will also host Watershed Wednesday talks as part of our Discover and Learn series. 

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