Students Save The Ocean From Marine Debris
Flows To The Ocean Project
How can we make a difference? How can we help animals in the ocean? Is there a solution to plastic marine debris pollution? Those are some of the questions the young environmentalists in Explore Ecology‘s Flows To The Ocean (FTO) program asked themselves at the beginning of the school year. After participating in FTO these students had some answers and solutions which they will present to the public at the Flows To The Ocean Community Education Night on Wednesday May 15th, 5:00-7:00pm at the South Coast Watershed Resource Center.
Flows To The Ocean is a yearlong program that educates students about how litter makes its way to the ocean. Since an estimated 80-85% of marine debris comes from the land, Explore Ecology’s environmental educators spend a lot of time teaching the FTO students about how their actions affect our waterways.
Students enrolled in FTO start off with the Creek Kids Series which consists of two in class lessons and a field trip to the Watershed Resource Center and a local creek. This is followed by an Waste Reduction class. The FTO program culminates in a trip to Santa Cruz Island where students conduct a beach clean up and learn how plastic litter is affecting wildlife.
FTO Students on Santa Cruz Island
Each class that participates in FTO is required to do a project that focuses on reducing marine debris by teaching others how to replace disposable plastic products with durable items.
Explore Ecology invites the Santa Barbara community to support these young environmentalists on their quest to make the ocean a cleaner place by attending the Flows To The Ocean Community Education Night. Students will present their projects and pizza, healthy snacks, and ice cream will be served.
Another Flows To The Ocean project
For more information contact Tahara Ezrahti at 805-884-0459 x16.
Josh was born and raised in Santa Barbara, where his passion and curiosity for the environment began and has continued to grow. During his undergraduate studies, Josh pursued this interest at the University of California at Santa Cruz, receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies.
Melissa Dodos developed her passion for creative reuse as a mother of four and elementary educator over the past 25 years. She loves to inspire creativity by connecting people with resources and ideas.
Veronica grew up in San Diego and spent four years in San Luis Obispo studying Animal Science at Cal Poly. As an undergrad she learned lots about livestock, agriculture, and wildlife.
Stephanie began her journey as an educator over twenty years ago working as a preschool teacher in Washington state for a cooperative preschool program affiliated with Whatcom Community College. She loved observing the wonder and curiosity of the children and bringing them out into nature to explore the natural world. She continued her love for learning and got her teaching license and then her Montessori certification and worked as an elementary teacher in Tribal, Public, and Montessori schools. She collaborated to create a school garden and her students loved it so much that it became a special place where they could garden, read, explore, play, and it provided a safe sanctuary for students to calm down and reset when they were having difficult moments.
Morgan’s mermaid soul is always seeking adventure—swimming a relay across the Santa Barbara Channel and taking the first photo of a newborn orca off Anacapa Island being standout experiences close to home.
Lindsay Johnson
[…] Students Save The Ocean From Marine Debris: How can we make a difference? How can we help animals in the ocean? Is there a solution to plastic […]
[…] we’re really exited about the bag ban. For years we have educated students in our Flows To The Ocean (FTO) classes about the damaging effects that marine debris has on marine animals and the ocean […]