California Coastal Cleanup Day

Calling All Teachers !

Last year, in just three hours, Coastal Cleanup Day volunteers removed more than 900,000 pounds of garbage from California shorelines and inland waterways. But the event did a whole lot more than help the marine

ecosystem. It was also an important environmental lesson for thousands of kids across the state.

This year, as in every year, the California Coastal Commission is encouraging teachers to bring their classes to Coastal Cleanup Day. We have made participation easier than ever. On either Friday, September 19 or Saturday, September 20, you can conduct a "backyard cleanup" in your schoolyard or local creek. We will provide all the supplies you need and count your students among the tens of thousands that participate in this cleanup worldwide. You can help your students make the connection between the trash they remove and the trash in our oceans by using activities in our free curriculum in your Fall 2008 lesson plans. You can download a PDF of just the "Community Action" chapter, containing lessons pertaining to Coastal Cleanup Day and other related service-learning projects, or learn more about the entire publication, Waves, Wetlands, and Watersheds.

To participate in Coastal Cleanup Day, contact your local coordinator. To find out about other events taking place around Coastal Cleanup Day for National COASTWEEKS, view our online calendar. To find out about all of our free programs for educators, including our video lending library, our Coastal Art & Poetry Contest, the Coastal Stewardship Pledge, and our WHALE TAIL^SM Grants, visit our For Educators page, or contact us at
(800)Coast4U or coast4u@coastal.ca.gov,