To commemorate the 39th annual California Coastal Cleanup Day, the state’s largest volunteer event, Redondo’s AP Environmental Science (APES) students participated in cleaning the Redondo Beach Pier on Sept. 23. According to APES teacher Gillian Moberg, who led the event, the goal was to encourage students to pick up trash in the sand and work as a group to understand the importance of the cleanup.
“It’s important for environmental science students to participate in doing something positive for the environment and bring awareness to [pressing environmental issues],” Moberg said. “And it’s also good camaraderie. If everyone’s doing it at the same time, it’ll feel good to [be] a part of something bigger.”
According to CNN, since the early 2000s, a build up in plastic waste has been the leading cause of ocean pollution. The accumulation of debris has caused islands of trash to form in the ocean that are invisible to even the strongest satellite imagery, according to National Geographic.
“Marine debris is a huge international issue that centers around the fact that trash left exposed in the rain will end up in the ocean, even if we aren’t directly responsible. We could either [ignore] the problem, or we could do something about [it], ” Moberg said.
For the event, the group met at the Redondo Beach Pier at nine in the morning, and got to work, distributing buckets and gloves. Then, they set out to gather trash littered across the beach, starting at the pier and venturing further out. Junior Sophia Urteaga, who participated in the event, said she was “grateful” for the experience after learning about human impact on the world in the class.
“We worked as a team, partnering up and filling a lot of buckets up with debris. As we went between rocks and through the sand, it was overwhelming how many things we found. A lot of people even thanked us as we worked. I hope the people who saw us out there today are inspired to join us in contributing to a cleaner planet,” Urteaga said.
The students worked for two hours, walking along the beach and finding trash in the most “unconventional” places, Urteaga said. They cleaned the surrounding bike paths and bushes, finding many broken bottles and plastics.
“I’ve always had a connection to the beach, especially because we live so close. If I’m coming out everyday, I want to be able to have a fun and safe time at the beach. By contributing to the beautification of this city, having this opportunity means a lot to me,” said Urteaga.
As they worked to pick up as much trash as they could, junior Giya Kiran felt the cleanup gave her a “good understanding” of the necessity of their help.
“This [opportunity] was a great way to get introduced to [helping the environment] and finding out what it’s like. I’ve always been interested in it and am [thinking] of joining a few more clubs as well,” Kiran said.
This is the ninth time Redondo has participated in the event and continues to help them show the “power of the individual” as well as bring awareness to an ever-growing issue.
“I understand how our trash gets here as well as what happens to it and the effects that it can have on our environment,” Kiran said. “It’s definitely opened my mind up to the different ways we can help and how in the future, we need to watch out for it.”
