Point Reyes Station, California — August 12, 2026: Cleaner California Coast, a Leave No Trace initiative, recently received funding through the NOAA California Sea Grant Cultivate Awards to launch a regional study examining how visitors manage food waste across Marin, Sonoma, and Mendocino counties. The $175,000 grant, supplemented by additional support from Marin and Sonoma Counties, will provide practical insights to help coastal land managers, waste professionals, and community partners improve visitor education and waste management strategies.
“Leave No Trace is grateful to NOAA for awarding generous funding to conduct this research in Central California,” said Dana Watts, the organization’s executive director. “Since its outset, our organization has supported recreation ecology research. Over time, this work has evolved beyond understanding recreational impacts on natural environments to also examining the human behaviors and decision-making that influence those impacts.”
Working with Penn State University and a regional network of public agencies and community partners, Cleaner California Coast will explore how visitors use landfill, compost, and recycling infrastructure, respond to educational signage, and make decisions about managing food waste while recreating along the coast.
Public coastal spaces are vital for community connection, tourism, and local economies. As visitation to California’s coast continues to grow, land managers and communities face increasing challenges in preventing food-related waste, protecting natural resources, and creating effective systems that support responsible recreation. Although food waste is a significant component of the waste stream, limited information exists about how visitors make decisions about food waste and which strategies are most effective in encouraging sustainable behaviors.
This study will help address this knowledge gap by providing evidence that can inform future approaches to coastal stewardship, waste and resource management, and visitor engagement.
The NOAA California Sea Grant Cultivate Awards support applied research projects that generate knowledge, tools, and solutions to help coastal communities, fisheries, aquaculture industries, and resource managers respond to environmental and economic challenges. Through its latest funding round, NOAA California Sea Grant awarded $2.45 million to 17 projects.
About Cleaner California Coast
Cleaner California Coast is Leave No Trace’s regional initiative serving Marin, Sonoma, and Mendocino counties. Working with public agencies, nonprofits, and local communities, the initiative develops education, outreach, and collaborative projects that help protect California’s north-central coast through responsible recreation and environmental stewardship.
About Leave No Trace
Leave No Trace is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the outdoors through science-based education that inspires responsible recreation. The organization provides people and communities with the knowledge and tools to minimize their impacts and help ensure a sustainable future for the outdoors and the planet.
Media inquiries can be directed to Mark Eller, Director of Communications and Marketing for Leave No Trace: [email protected]
