Sea Change at Kids Ocean Day

This week, 1,300 kids spent the morning cleaning up trash at Huntington Beach for Kids Ocean Day.

Joined by nearly 200 teachers and volunteers, this crew removed over 500 pounds of trash from our waters. For ocean lovers like us, it was the best day ever.

After an hour and a half of cleanup in the morning, we all came together on the sparkling-clean sand to get creative and “sea change” with some aerial artwork.

This event was part of the 23rd Annual Kids’ Adopt-A-Beach Cleanup, which took place at six beaches along the California coast with 8,000 children participating in similar events coordinated by the California Coastal Commission.

“These students reflect the hope that we are on the verge of a ‘sea change’ in how we relate to the ocean and the rest of the natural world,” said Steve Kinsey, Chair of the California Coastal Commission. “Since the problems facing our ocean are caused by us – pollution, sea level rise, ocean acidification, declining fish stocks – it is up to us to find a way to address them. The kids participating today inspire everyone to work together toward that end.”

Some kids who joined us had never been to the beach before in their lives. A major goal of the program is to educate students and remove any obstacles they may face in experiencing their local natural environment, whether that’s financial limitations or transportation difficulties. Everyone should be able to experience Orange County’s most valuable asset, the ocean.

Seeing so many students come together to take care of our local environment was powerful and we’re thankful to everyone who made it happen.

Teachers and parents, thanks for showing your students and kids how important it is to keep our waters clean. California Coastal Commission and Grow Healthy Vending, thanks for sponsoring the event and getting our community excited about environmental care. Volunteers, thanks for giving your time to make our beach and our community a better place. We appreciate your work so much.

To learn more and get involved in taking care of your local waters, click here to sign up for our next monthly cleanup. We’re about to reach a milestone of removing 10,000 pounds of trash from our waters and we’d love to have you be part of it.

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