Coastal Cleanup Day kicks off early with students sifting sand
SM BEACH She had only spent roughly 10 minutes on the beach and, already, Vanessa Gonzales had picked up enough cigarette buts to fill a carton.
“It’s gross,” the 9-year-old from 186th Street School in Gardena said as she looked into a paper sack at her collection of garbage. “I don’t like (the trash) because if the wind blows it into the ocean, the animals will get sick or die.”
Gonzales was just one of roughly 700 kids from Title 1 schools who hit Santa Monica’s beaches on Friday for Heal the Bay’s Coastal Cleanup kickoff.
“It’s a lot of fun, cleaning,” said Justin McGee, 10, a classmate of Gonzales. “It’s fun because we’re helping out the beach, keeping it clean so that we can protect the ocean and the animals that live there.”
The event was a precursor to the 23rd annual California Coastal Cleanup Day this Saturday, which will see 10,000 Southland volunteers sift through the sand and inland waterways in search of plastic debris and other garbage that pose significant health risks to humans and marine life alike.
More than 70,000 pounds of trash and recyclables were collected during last year’s Coastal Cleanup effort, 85 percent of which came from inland sites. Plastics are by far the most collected debris, followed by cigarettes, according to Mark Gold, executive director of Heal the Bay.
“We want to educate people that the beach really begins at their front doors,” said Gold, who emphasized the importance of keeping waterways that flow to the ocean, like the Compton Creek, free of debris. “The kids are great because they are more effective than anybody in spreading the word. They are excellent stewards of the environment, telling friends and family about how important it is to not throw trash in the street …”
Fourth-grade teacher Ray Valencia applauded Heal the Bay for inviting his students to the event. He said that, for some kids, it was the first time they had ever been to the ocean and, therefore, it was important to see how their daily activities back home have a far greater effect on the world around them.
“It’s very important to widen their horizons and experience different things,” Valencia said. “And it’s fun too.”
In addition to picking up trash, the kids participated in educational games such as the fatal food relay, in which students would pretend to be their favorite marine animal and run to a bag full of either food or garbage. Those who got the bag full of garbage had to pretend that they were sick and run over to the animal hospital where they learned about the dangers of littering and why some animals ingest plastics and other debris accidentally.
At the Heal the Bay Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, the kids got to see marine life up close and personal. Some spent time touching starfish or slimy sea cucumbers, while others learned about eels and whales.
California Coastal Cleanup Day began in 1985, an offspring of the California Coastal Commission’s Adopt-a-Beach program. Today, the event has become arguably the largest volunteer day on the planet — a national and international event involving all 50 states and nearly 70 participating nations, according to Heal the Bay. The events attract individual activists, school religious groups, major corporations and community service organizations.
“It truly is a collaborative effort,” said Gold.
This weekend marks the 18th year in which Heal the Bay has served as the Los Angeles County coordinator.
In addition to picking up trash, the day also serves as a reminder that work still needs to be done in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. to convince lawmakers to pass legislation curbing the manufacturing of plastic products and other items that are often disposed of after one use.
Heal the Bay is currently sponsoring five different state bills dealing with marine debris. One on the governor’s desk, awaiting his signature, has to do with plastic manufacturers and distributors who use small plastic pellets called “nurdles,” which are used to make soda bottles, car parts, toys and plastic bags. They are tiny and can easily make their way onto beaches or in waterways.
The bill would require those working with nurdles to use “best practices” to prevent them from spreading into waterways.
Other bills in the works deal with cleaning up derelict fishing gear such as fishing nets that can linger for years in oceans, killing marine life and phasing out the use of toxic chemicals in plastics. Heal the Bay is also pushing for an all-out ban on plastic bags. Gold said six billion plastic bags are used in California every year, most just once, creating a major pollution problem.
“Our big focus this year is on the elimination of one-use plastics,” Gold said. “Once plastics get into our ocean, they remain there for years and years. It really has become a global problem.”
In the words of the kids, “that’s gross.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 15, 2007. Read the original PDF.