Are you looking for service-learning activities for your students?
Do you want to foster community responsibility at your school?
Do you sponsor an environmental club that wants to make a difference?
Your students can become a Coastal Steward Class by pledging to improve our coastal environment. A Pledge Sheet of activities is available that are particularly suited to students and the classroom. In addition to the Pledge Sheet, there is further information and background on each of the pledge activities, explaining why taking these steps helps to protect and preserve our coastal and marine resources and providing ways to learn more. If you'd like more information after downloading the materials below, or if you'd like a hard copy mailed to you, please email coast4u@coastal.ca.gov or call (800)Coast-4U.

• Coastal Steward Class Pledge
• Information and Background for Teachers/Pledge Leaders

Read about the experiences of some Coastal Steward Classes:

Mr. Victor Flake’s fifth grade class at La Costa Heights Elementary School in Carlsbad, California dedicated this year to learning about taking care of their environment, vermicomposting, and composting. They set up a worm bin in their class and cared for it properly the whole year. They resurrected an old compost pile in the school’s garden, and even got it to a temperature of an impressive 134°F! They each made a pledge that they would commit to doing five things that would take care of Mother Earth. They kept a log for over a month, and the winner received their own new worm bin! This was a very desirable reward, and many other kids will be starting one in their home. The kids made several changes in their daily habits; the top changes being turning off the faucet as they brushed their teeth, taking shorter showers, informing their family members about water saving tips, and recycling. The classroom kept a bin for all their paper and plastic recycling for the entire year. Mr. Flake is a dedicated environmentalist, and taught an impressive scope of lifelong habits and green philosophy that will reach far beyond this academic term. It’s been a great year!

"I work with an amazing group of third graders at Sunset Elementary School in San Francisco who have taken the coastal stewards pledge. Not only do students recycle and compost, they give up their recess time to help compost food scraps in our cafeteria and paper towels in the bathrooms. They maintain an area outside our school around our native plant garden to be free of trash. Students bring waste free lunches on field trips and to school. Students have visited our local beach, Ocean Beach, four times this year collecting trash and studying the coastal ecosystem. Each student completed a research report on their favorite marine/beach animal and included actions they could take to help protect the habitats of the animals. I am very proud of the commitment these students have made to help protect our oceans and beaches."