Free Public Event Encourages Families to Attend
Oxnard, CA – Earth Alert is proud to announce the premiere of its latest documentary, Ormond: Past, Present, Future, on Saturday, April 26, at 2 p.m. at the South Oxnard Library. The screening is free and open to the public, with families and young people especially encouraged to attend.
The 30-minute film tells the powerful story of ordinary citizens fighting to protect Ormond Beach, a vital Ventura County coastal wetland that provides critical habitat for endangered and threatened species. Through compelling interviews with community activists and elected officials, Ormond: Past, Present, Future captures decades of grassroots efforts to preserve one of California’s last remaining coastal wetlands.
“There’s a reason this land hasn’t been lost to high-end real estate or industrial development,” says Janet Bridgers, Earth Alert Co-Founder and President. “For 35 years, dedicated individuals have worked tirelessly to safeguard Ormond Beach. We hope this film will inspire the next generation to continue the fight.”
Despite constant threats from urban expansion, Ormond Beach remains a rare sanctuary for over 200 bird species, including the endangered California least tern and Western snowy plover. The documentary highlights how a new wave of young activists—some drawn to the wetlands during the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic—have taken up the cause, advocating for its preservation and organizing community clean-up efforts.
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Why is Ormond So Important?
Benefits of Wetlands to Birds & Humans
Earth Alert Favors an Ecological Reserve. Why?
Why Ormond Isn't Just a Local Issue
Ormond Beach is on the Pacific Flyway, which stretches from Patagonia in South America to Alaska, and because that flyway is so fragmented, any place that still provides a place for migrating birds to rest and forage is that much more important, especially with sea level rise.
The Endangered Species Act is both federal and state legislation. If the endangered species at Ormond are not being adequately protected, it is therefore a violation of federal and state laws.
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Our mission is to contribute to the enormous and ongoing need to educate the public on environmental issues by cost-effective use of mainstream media and independent production.
The clear evidence that climate change is happening worldwide indicates that work to significantly slow climate change must take place at the highest levels of government. Consequently, Earth Alert has chosen to devote its energy and resources to protecting one relatively small, but critically important wetland, Ormond Beach.
This 52-minute documentary tells the story of how the people of California organized to save the coast in response to the Santa Barbara oil spill in 1969.
Heroes of the Coast – the Documentary presents 50 years of the California coastal protection movement from the individuals who worked successfully for passage of Prop. 20 in 1972.
Our archive of interviews, including Ellen Stern Harris, Don May, Howard Bennett, Bill Kortum, Lew Reid, Dorothy Green, Peter Douglas and Bob Sollen.
Read the story behind the story and newspaper articles highlighting the making of Heroes of the Coast—the Documentary.
“Ormond Beach has a magic that’s hard to explain,” Bridgers adds. “The mix of salt air, bird song, and open space speaks to people in a way that keeps them coming back—and keeps them fighting for its future.”
The film was produced in collaboration with documentary filmmaker Toby Younis, who conducted interviews, filmed key visuals, and edited the project. Though now based in South Carolina, Younis and Bridgers, who resides in Albuquerque, NM, emphasize that Ormond Beach is not just a local issue—it’s a national environmental story.
Designated an Important Bird Area by the Audubon Society, Ormond Beach remains a crucial refuge for wildlife and a rare remnant of the vast wetlands that once lined the California coast. Earth Alert hopes this documentary will not only raise awareness but also empower more people to take action.
Founded in 1984, Earth Alert has a long history of environmental advocacy through media, with its first documentary earning a Los Angeles-area Emmy Award.
Heroes of the Coast — the Documentary
Sand Sun Oil + Gas
Ormond Wetland Wonderland
Sharing the Santa Barbara Channel
Stories of the Spill
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Watch/read the interviews
Ormond Beach in Ventura County is considered by many to be the most important coastal wetland in Central California. Earth Alert board members have played major roles in its protection.
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