This summer, the website First Here, Then Everywhere interviewed last year’s members on Team Marine’s current projects. They even featured our First Flush video!
First Here, Then Everywhere is a network for young environmentalists to connect and share ideas about solutions to climate change with other students in the country. A big thank you to founder Chloe Maxmin for featuring us!
Check out our initiative: http://www.firstheretheneverywhere.com/#!initiatives/c1rcu
The 5 Gyres Institute is an environmental organization that not only spreads awareness about the issues in our oceans such as plastic bag pollution, dumping of harmful chemicals, as well as the endangerment of marine life all over the world. The activists at 5 Gyres collect evidence from oceans all over the world and present their findings to industries, advocates, and policy makers to fight for the preservation of the oceans all over the world and to protect the oceanic resources that if not rationed, will become rare and have a major impact on the human and animal populations They also educate and train others to become activist as well so that they can help to save the planet as well. The organization provides testimonies and anecdotes on the relationship and interaction between plastic and the ocean, chemicals and the ocean, marine life and their response to the chemicals and plastics, and the overall impact of all these things to human health. Each of these makes 5 Gyres a significant group. All of us here at Team marine strongly endorse the 5 Gyres Institute and the causes they fight for. We support them in every way possible and whenever we can and if would like, you can too. The 5 Gyres institute is taking donations to fund their cause because saving the world is not cheap.
http://5gyres.org/
This past July, Team Marine senior, Adrienne Hino, was awarded an Earthwatch fellowship in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where she researched, collected, and analyzed quantitative data on the nest shrubs and surrounding shrubs of songbirds, which contributed to a soon-to-be published scientific study addressing how nest shrub density affects nest success in yellow warblers, black-headed grosbeaks, American robins, and song sparrows in the Jackson Hole area. Using nest shrub density as an indication of how much human development exists in areas surrounding songbird habitats, the objective of the study was to measure the extent to which anthropogenic effects are taking on songbird populations and the environment. Her fellowship required collecting data and observing songbird habitats. She also gave a formal presentation to the Teton Science School in regards to the results of the 11 days she worked on the study. Adrienne often shares how much pride she takes in her contribution to the project because, while she was only able to work on it for 11 days, she was able to see firsthand the devastating effects humans are having on the environment from a very unique perspective. She continues to encourage her fellow team members to seek similar opportunities, “My fellowship experience was extremely educationally rewarding because it allowed me to conduct research outside of a traditional classroom setting and make a meaningful contribution to science. This experience meant so much to me because it offered me the opportunity, just as Team Marine does, to merge my love for nature and my passion for science. It wasn’t until my trip in Wyoming, where I was immersed in nature, that I really realized the vitality of preserving our environment.” Being able to be within nature, she wasn’t just able to recognize a need for preservation of our environment, but she was also able to develop a true appreciation for and share a connection with nature. Reflecting back on the most valuable aspects of her trip, Adrienne expresses, “This experience has really taught me the importance in having the utmost patience, compassion, and pride in everything you do. I hope to use these values to create positive change in the world, as I continue to combat environmental issues.” Finally, she says, “Thank you so much to Renee Klein for encouraging me to apply for the fellowship, The Earthwatch Institute for providing me with such an amazing opportunity, and the Teton Science School for providing me such an amazing learning environment.”
This past Monday, the 10th of December, Culver City Council held a hearing for a plastic bag ban ordinance. Team Marine members were excited but unable to attend due to the upcoming week of Finals. However, Team Marine’s own coach, Benjamin Kay, presented Team Marine’s data from a two-year student study of grocery store bag type usage that has been ongoing since 10 months before the Santa Monica bag ban, September 1, 2011. Also, Andy Shrader from Clean Sea Coalition, Marina Debris, a local artist who collects pollution from the beach transforming it into art, and Anna Cummins, a Co-Founder of the 5 Gyres Institute appeared and spoke their opinions and shared statistics regarding plastic bags and the harmful effects they have on the environment specifically the marine life ingesting and entangled in these plastic bags. This creating a boomerang effect back on us when we consume seafood. Approximately thirty for, vs. three against each had a maximum of three minutes to present. Afterthirty convincing speeches from 9 till about 11 Culver City decided to ban the bag.
Team Marine has received the 50 sporks Mr. Kay ordered as well as the ten sporks that the company, Life Without Plastic, donated. We are very appreciative of their generous donation. Team Marine was very excited to receive the sporks and will continue to promote the message of switching from single-use utensils to sustainable alternatives. A big thank you to Jay Sinha from Life Without Plastic!
Visit their website here: http://lifewithoutplastic.com/
Two weeks ago, Team Marine received their customized 2012-2013 Team Marine T-shirts; special thanks to Justin Tavaf who designed the shirts. Team Marine will now be sporting our shirts to every event as well as every Friday.
Another special thanks to Terri Bidle, Lynn Whitley, and DJ Kast Da Vinci for providing Team Marine’s car and bag teams the opportunity to go to Catalina Island for the QuikScience Challenge. In return, Team Marine gave them Team Marine T-Shirts as a way of showing our appreciation.
This morning, the Santa Monica Mirror published an online article about Team Marine and the First Flush! Check it out:
Also, thank you so much to Zan Dubin Scott from Plug-In America for sharing our press release!
Plug-In America’s website: http://www.pluginamerica.org/
Team Marine just sent out their press release about this year’s unique first flush encounter. The article has already been posted on the 5Gyres blog and on Surfrider Foundation’s facebook page. Thank you both for the continuous support!
http://5gyres.org/posts/2012/12/09/first_flush_santa_monica_team_marine_finds_plastic
https://www.facebook.com/SurfriderLA
Team Marine “Bag Team” competed in this year’s QuikSCience Challenge!
The QuikSCience challenge is a competition for middle and high school students. Each team creates a science project related to marine or freshwater environments. The challenge is sponsored by the USC College Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies in partnership with Quiksilver Inc.
Each team (up to 6 students) submits:
Our project: Plastic Pollution
We learn a lot just by being in Team Marine, but this project gave us the opportunity to learn even more and apply all that we’ve learned to a meaningful and inspiring project. Not only this, but this project brought us closer together as a team and has taught us skills that we can use throughout the rest of our lives. We admit, some parts of the project were difficult, but we pulled through and had a great experience in the end. Thanks QuikSCience!!
Here’s a link to our 2-min video clips!
They also donated ten free sporks to us and offered a partnership. We look forward to great collaborations with this company. Thank you Life Without Plastics!
Their website is: LifeWithoutPlastic.com
LWP blog: http://www.
LWP twitter: http://twitter.com/
LWP facebook: http://www.facebook.
