Happy 20th Anniversary to the Whale Tail License Plate & Grants Program
The WHALE TAIL® License Plate celebrates 20 years of marine education, protecting and restoring California’s coast and ocean, and influencing thousands of future coastal stewards.
“The support for the WHALE TAIL® License Plate has been tremendous,” said Christiane Parry, director of education for the California Coastal Commission (CCC) – the agency that administers funds collected from the license plate purchases.
Californians purchased nearly a quarter of a million license plates since the plate’s launch, generating funding for over 650 individual projects over the last two decades.
The Public Education Program and its partners are hard at work promoting the plate and program successes, below are a few examples:
ABC7 News: WHALE TAIL® License Plate & Grants Program (Noaki Schwartz - CCC & Shelley Luce - Heal the Bay)
iHeartRadio: Community-Council (Chris Parry - CCC)
Univision: Placa vehicular 'cola de ballena', la opción para preservar los océanos en California (Frankie Orrala - Heal the Bay)
San Gabriel Valley Tribute: After 20 years, California’s whale tail license plates remain one of state’s most successful environmental programs ever (Steve Scauzillo)
“Californians have great respect for the environment and value the importance of taking care of marine wildlife, while educating the next generation about preserving our coast.”
To heighten awareness and generate excitement for the WHALE TAIL® License Plate, Heal the Bay honored the 20th anniversary at their Nothin’ But Sand Beach and Creek Cleanup on Oct. 21st at Playa del Rey’s Toe’s Beach. More than 700 volunteers participated last Saturday prizes were raffled including reusable totes, bottles, and buckets and three WHALE TAIL® License Plates.
Heal the Bay, a Los Angeles-based environmental organization, receives funds generated by the WHALE TAIL® License Plate to support its educational and conservation programs.
“We are forever grateful for the proceeds raised from the WHALE TAIL® License Plate program,” said Meredith McCarthy, Heal the Bay’s Director of Programs. “As a non-profit organization, we wouldn’t be able to educate the community about protecting the environment without the support of California drivers who care about the health of our coasts.”
Supporting the WHALE TAIL® License Plate program helps local organizations improve their local community and that radiates out across the state.
To buy a plate visit ecoplates.org
To find out more about the grants program visit coast4u.org