More than 3,500 students will head to the beach for a cleanup and to participate in an aerial artwork, designed by a Los Angeles student and brought to life by aerial artist John Quigley during Kids Ocean Day May 15 at Dockweiler State Beach in Playa del Rey.
Among the 35 Los Angeles-area schools participating this year’s Kids Ocean Day is 186th Street Elementary School.
Kids Ocean Day is the culmination of a year-round school assembly program by the Malibu Foundation for Environmental Education to teach school kids about how litter flows from our neighborhoods to the ocean, thereby killing marine life and polluting food resources.
Environmental Education founder Michael Klubock started Kids Ocean Day 21 years ago as a way to bring his school assembly program into the real world. The one-day cleanup event motivates the students of Los Angeles to care about their environment and involves them in community service, while instilling good habits and stewardship.
Bringing Los Angeles school children to the beach helps put them in touch with nature, while challenging them to recycle, reduce litter and participate in cleaning up their environment. For many of the young people, Kids Ocean Day is their first time at the ocean. The wonder and beauty of the coast, combined with a mission to protect the natural world, is a profound experience.
Kids Ocean Day is sponsored by the City of Los Angeles Stormwater Program, a project of the Bureau of Sanitation, The City of Los Angeles Board of Public Works, as well as the California Coastal Commission, Keep LA Beautiful, Spectral Q and others.
