Description
Ocean Blue Project is a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded in 2012 in Newport, Oregon by father and son, Richard and Fleet Arterbury, tribal members of the Choctaw Nation. We are built around one vision: that the world’s ocean, beaches and rivers will once again be pristine, self-sustaining ecosystems where wildlife and human communities can coexist and thrive.
We engage with local communities and governments to mobilize and coordinate resources, to educate youth, and to reconnect populations to their local environment. Our members and volunteers clean up beaches and river banks, restore riverside vegetation and train their communities on ways to reduce environmental pollutants, and help improve biodiversity in the local ecosystems.
Since our father-and-son founders began this mission, Ocean Blue Project volunteers have removed over 190,000 lbs. of debris from beaches and waterways, including 82,582 pounds in 2019 alone. We have also planted 9,900 native shrubs and Trees for Streams.
Our main goal is to remove 1 million lbs. of plastic debris from the coasts and river banks by 2025, starting a virtuous cycle of habitat restoration, ecosystem diversity and cleansing of our waterways.
