Water. It’s a fact of life for all living things, but none more so than those of us who thrive in a coastal zone — especially those of us who enjoy it for its diversions, in addition to its life-giving characteristics. To honor those who devote themselves to the necessary work of protecting the waterways, San Diego Coastkeeper presented eight awards to local environmental leaders on June 8, World Oceans Day. Among those honored at the ceremony at Birch Aquarium, fittingly overlooking La Jolla’s marine protected areas and areas of special biological significance (ASBS) was La Jolla’s Hike Bike Kayak, owned by David Teafatiller and Angela Harrell. Recognized for building a tourism business that combines recreational activity with education about San Diego’s unique marine ecosystems, Hike Bike Kayak also received the ASBS Special Recognition for its contribution to protecting the ASBS, one of the most pristine and biologically unique coastal areas in California. Hike Bike Kayak specializes in environmental education and wildlife-focused tours around San Diego, cornering the ecotourism market. Also honored at the event was County Supervisor Pam Slater-Price, who received the Lighthouse Lifetime Achievement Award for her commitment to clean water throughout her time in public office. During her 20-year career on the Board of Supervisors — which will end this year as she steps down, declining to seek a sixth term — Slater-Price has championed environmental causes, securing nearly $10 million in funding for environmental projects in San Diego and allocating a $112,000 grant for the foundation of open-air classrooms at San Dieguito River Park. She has supported stormwater regulation, water-quality testing and posting of contamination warnings, restoration of the San Dieguito wetlands, land acquisitions and construction of the San Elijo Lagoon visitors’ center, making her an easy pick for the lifetime achievement award. “Having grown up in San Diego since the age of 6, I have always loved the ocean,” Slater-Price said as she accepted the award. “When I was a teacher, I?told my students we would lose our lives if we lost the oceans.” Slater-Price emphasized the importance of education when it comes to protecting resources, pointing to the particular importance of educating inland, inner city and urban youth. “Children are such avid learners, it’s almost embarassingly easy [to educate them],” she said. After the ceremony, as the winners gathered on Birch Aquarium’s terrace overlooking the Pacific, Slater-Price said she was thrilled with the honor. “This is the reason I ran [for office], to preserve the environment and ocean, and to educate people,” she said. “It’s important to recognize these treasures so they’re not destroyed.” As for what she’ll do after she leaves office, Slater-Price said she has received plenty of “good offers,” but she hasn’t made any decisions yet. “But I’ve never believed in keeping my mouth shut and going with the crowd,” she said. “I will not abandon advocating for environmental causes when I leave office.” Others recognized for their efforts to protect fishable, swimmable and drinkable waters: • Runoff Rockstar Award: Oscar Romo of the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve for spearheading restoration and preservation projects throughout the Tijuana River watershed. • Find and Fix Award: The Escondido Creek Conservancy for identifying abandoned cars in the Escondido Creek and acting decisively to fix the problem. • Blue Tech Award: Carlos Zamora of Z Data Solutions for innovation in the development of a crowd-sourcing application and website to empower community members, organizations and agencies to track and reduce pollution in San Diego County. • Water Wise Award: San Diego Public Utilities Department’s Residential Outdoor Water Conservation Rebate Program for helping more than 300 customers conserve 61.8-million gallons of water over 10 years by offering rebates for smart controllers, micro-irrigation, turf replacement and rain barrels. • Volunteers of the Year: Beth and Bruce Hendershot for relentlessly donating their time to Coastkeeper’s water-quality monitoring lab. The duo have dedicated at least one weekend a month for several years to gathering, delivering and analyzing water quality samples in North County. Winners received a handmade glass sculpture depicting one of the sea creatures their work helps to protect. James Stone of Stone and Glass designed, created and donated the award sculptures to commemorate his dedication to the ocean.