Dockwalker Training Helps Young Adult & Youth Volunteers Hone Job Skills
Los Angeles CA— Free Dockwalker trainings return this spring to educate volunteers on how to promote environmentally-sound boating practices across the Southern California coast. From March to May, five free workshops will familiarize volunteers with clean boating tips and resources to bring to their local boating communities. These workshops are provided by The Bay Foundation (TBF), California Coastal Commission, and California State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways’ Boating Clean and Green Program.
Dockwalkers make up an incredible statewide force that effectively interact with recreational boaters through face-to-face education. This method of communication and the distribution of educational Boater Kits have proved to be powerful means to keep California’s waterways clean. Last year, volunteer Dockwalkers distributed 7,800 Boater Kits and donated more than 1,800 hours to environmental education efforts. Often these efforts are combined with other marine-based or educational programs with partners such as the Local Conservation Corps.
Three Southern California Local Conservation Corps crews – Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Orange County – were trained as Dockwalker volunteers in 2019, to complement their innovative and successful recycling programs. Conservation Corps’ mission is to provide at-risk young adults and school-aged youth with opportunities for success through job skills training, education, and work experience. Participation in the Dockwalker program serves the Corps’ emphasis on conservation and service projects that benefit the community, including the recreational boating community and marine environment.
“As a Program Coordinator with the Los Angeles Conservation Corps, I see firsthand the benefits of corps members participating in the Dockwalker program,” says Carla Alas. “Corps members build confidence and interpersonal skills by interacting with the boating community at outreach events they attend alongside The Bay Foundation.”
‘Dockwalking’ can take place in a variety of places, not just by walking on the docks, and can be curated to each boater’s interests. Boat shows and festivals are excellent places for boaters to learn from a Dockwalker’s arsenal of topics on boat-based pollutants, including sewage, fuel, marine debris, and more. The flexibility and versatility of the program’s eco-solution mission is mirrored in TBF’s creative approach to education. TBF and its partners produce the Pumpout Nav app (right), which geolocates the nearest sewage disposal resources; Southern California tide calendars that highlight various waste disposal resources; and short videos on environmental laws, effects of pollution, and resources to prevent boat-based pollution. All of these tools are utilized by Dockwalkers in their interactions with boaters for a multi-pronged educational experience.
“Dockwalker volunteers are appreciative of the dynamic program and their ability to bring an effective pollution-prevention strategy into their own communities,” states Victoria Gambale, TBF’s Community Engagement Program Manager. “Each year, we hear from long-standing Dockwalkers about how they are glad their feedback is adapted into the program and how TBF and its partners continually work to keep the program fresh, fun, and relevant.”
To become a Dockwalker volunteer, sign up for a training online or contact Victoria Gambale vgambale@santamonicabay.org. For more information, visit the Dockwalker Program webpage. Training is free. Registration is required.
Spring 2020 Dockwalker trainings will be held at the following locations and times:
March 28, 2020 – Newport Beach
10 AM – 12:45 PM
Newport Sea Base
1931 West Coast Highway, Newport Beach, CA 92663
April 25, 2020 – San Diego
10 AM – 12:45 PM
Silver Gate Yacht Club
2091 Shelter Island Drive, San Diego, CA 92106
May 8, 2020 – Oxnard
1 PM – 3:45 PM
USCG Recruiting Center, Channel Islands Harbor
4202 S. Victoria Avenue, Oxnard, CA 93035
May 9, 2020 – Marina del Rey
10 AM – 12:45 PM
Santa Monica Windjammers Yacht Club
13589 Mindanao Way, Marina del Rey, CA 90292
May 16, 2020 – San Pedro
10 AM – 12:45 PM
Long Beach Yacht Club
6201 E. Appian Way, Long Beach, CA 90803