Megan Kilroy of Team Marine

I'm going to do a little bragging in this post. I work with Team Marine of Santa Monica High. They constantly inspire me. Above is a photo from a newspaper article about the march we did to ban plastic bags in early Sept.. That was taken in front of the Santa Monica City Hall. Makes you smile, doesn't it?

That same weekend we headed out to the Santa Monica Pier to participate in Jane Goodall's Roots and Shoots organization's, Day of Peace. Here is Megan, a member of T.M., showing the girls in the Peace Troop a water sample on loan from Algalita Marine Research Foundation, of the North Pacific Trash Gyre.

This is a clip from the Teen Nick Halo Awards hosted by Nick Cannon. Megan was a recipient this year.

She is quick to mention that there is NO WAY she would be getting awarded anything without

the rest of her friends on Team Marine and the Surfrider/Heal the Bay Teach and Test Club.

But....she is awesome and this week didn't really want to do homework one afternoon so she

went to the beach in Santa Monica near the pier and collected trash for 20-25 minutes

She collected 1 pound and took some good shots. Well, she took clear shots of disturbing amounts

of trash. Below is what she found on her walk that lasted for less than 30 minutes.

Fact - Santa Monica cleans it's beaches daily

Fact - Plastics Are Forever. Yup, they do not biodegrade but break into smaller and smaller pieces until you have plastic soup.

www.teammarine.org / www.teammarine.blogspot.com

The Peace Troop Cleans the Beach - Oct 25

Life Guard Tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 min. by 11 4th grade girls and their families!

estimated pounds collected today - 9

estimated pounds collected in Community Count to date -
I met the Peace Troop last Sunday night on the beach to collect trash and as the sun sank lower towards the Pacific.

We first met at the Roots and Shoots Day of Peace back in late Sept.. They came to the Santa Monica Pier to help work the Surfrider booth and that is where I was lucky enough to meet them.

The Peace Troop formed to give their 13 members who joined a chance to learn more about environmental issues, and volunteer in different capacities to make a difference.

I think the Girl Scouts might not have been anywhere near as green minded as these girls wanted to be.
Sometimes we found beautiful things on the beach.
Our only wish when we saw this sand sculpture was that it wasn't a real Sea Turtle!
Here are a few suggestions of environmental organizations that have programs with kids in mind.

The NRDC - this link provides over 50 other links organized by the different environmental issues they cover. An incredible resource for any teacher, parent, or kid.

Heal the Bay - has an aquarium on the Santa Monica Pier with a kids corner!

WWF - your child wants a pet, but you can't have one? Well adopt one of these real ones. And the best thing is they don't have to move in with you. In fact, umm.. they probably shouldn't.
Can solutions be as small as cleaning a beach together as a family?

Yes.

Do solutions also need to be as big as the upcoming conference on climate change in Denmark this December?

Yes.

Small efforts accumulate to larger results, and big efforts make sweeping change.

Both approaches are needed, and welcomed.

Want to come to a beach cleanup with me like The Peace Troop did? Sure! Just ask, I'm there. My email can be found on my blog or just leave me a comment below this post.

Two Peace Troopers down by the surf at sunset.
My sincere thanks to all the girls that came out that day and the parents that came with them. This weekend was a really special one for me. One that I will remember for a long time. Thanks for being a part of it, for your effort, smiles, and concern for the environment. I hope to see you all soon!

Peace Troop Cleans the Beach - Oct 25

If Saturday's Blogger Beach Cleanup wasn't enough, Sunday the girls from Peace Troop came out to the beach to do another cleanup.

I have more pictures and reflections to share in a longer post that will be up by tomorrow, but I wanted to put up a quick picture and say thank you so much for showing how much you care! Peace Troop Rocks!

They collected 9 pounds in 20 minutes.

Day 60 - Sept 20

Lifeguard Tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

estimated pounds of trash collected today - 5.8

estimated pounds of trash collected to date - 309.9
Ruby Slippers! There's no place like home. Garen and I spent over an hour in the water today at the beach in front of Tower 26. I had never swam there before, but we checked the Heal the Bay Beach Report card and saw that it was an A even though it is near beaches that have received an F rating.

And besides, I have collected some trash off that beach that I would rather not swim with. I couldn't resist the perfect body surfing waves that roll in there any longer, and it made more sense to me why surfers will risk dirty beaches if there is a nice wave there. Now I also understand why so many people go there.

The water in the bay is warm, especially in September here in Southern California. And the sandy bottom, where perfect surfing and body surfing waves roll in, makes it a really great place to play in the water. After having such a good time there today, I am even more determined to carry on with this project.
There was a festival on the pier today sponsored by the Roots and Shoots Foundation that was started by Jane Goodall. The students of Team Marine at SAMOHI (Santa Monica High School) brought their RETHINK sign to prop up in front of the stage. Their sign, which I have mentioned in this blog in an earlier post, is made from 37, 427 plastic bottle tops, that is 37,427 plastic bottle tops that have not made it in the ocean. Neither did this one.
An old boogie board, soggy, broken and left behind.
On the pier today I met a group of 4th graders and their parents who have formed an organization called PEACE TROOP. They used to be involved in Girl Scouts but have started to do their own thing, and today they worked for Surfrider. I was very excited to meet them. They are invited to participate in The Daily Ocean by coming out for a beach cleanup with me. And Team Marine will look into partnering with their elementary school in West Los Angeles. Today was a great day to be a part of things going on here in Santa Monica, and the greater Los Angeles area.
Hope you enjoyed today, it was the last day of summer. September can be an unbearably hot month here, but this weekend was just right. It is bittersweet to say goodbye to this season and enter into fall, but this is my favorite time of year. It feels full of possibilities, and full of forward moving energy to greet those possibilities as they develop.