Team Marine's 10 R's part 1: Problems of Single-use Plastics

Team Marine's 10 R's part 2: Solutions to Single-use Plastics

We are a group of eco-minded students from Santa Monica High School who participate in various ocean stewardship/environmental science competitions, such as the QuikSCience Challenge, Edison Challenge, and the Solar Cup. We try to raise awareness about the global marine debris, energy and climate change crises through different service learning and community outreach projects. Team Marine was started by the Marine Biology students of 2006/2007 and coached by Marine Biology teacher Benjamin Kay,. (Benjamin Kay's Class Website)

Team Marine 09-10 in Edison and QuikSCience Challenges: Student projects varied by team. Team Marine QuikSCience focused on raising awareness about solutions to our global plastic pollution, climate, and energy crises while Team Marine Edison (a.k.a. “The Lab Coats”) focused on the Surfrider Foundation Teach and Test Ocean Water Quality Monitoring Program and the Recycle for Life Straws Program. While varied in focus, the two teams frequently collaborated with one another and recruited numerous peers and community members to participate in their endeavors. Some of their achievements this year include producing an educational documentary about plastic marine debris, making how-to videos for the Teach and Test and Life Straw Programs, collecting 26,764 recyclables to raise money to buy and send water-purifying Life Straws to Cambodia and Africa, conducting a waste characterization study on marine debris around the Pico-Kenter and Venice storm drains, performing research on the buoyancy of disposable plastics, building a predictive model for plastic accumulation in near-and offshore marine habitats, organizing and leading a large student march through the city to promote a ban on single-use plastic bags and water bottles, lobbying state officials in Sacramento to adopt bills that would reduce plastic marine debris and green house gas emissions, building and racing a 16” solar boat for the 2010 Solar Cup, testifying at public hearings to persuade the Blue Ribbon Task Force and stakeholders to adopt the scientific recommendations for marine protected areas being established in Southern California, speaking in front of 6,000 youth at the Los Angeles Environmental Youth Conference, instituting a mentorship program for local middle school students to teach them about ocean water quality, developing and teaching their new 10R sustainable curriculum to community members all over LA county, and filming with Teen Nickelodeon for the Halo Award TV show.

Team Marine 08-09 in Edison Challenge: After attending numerous conferences, workshops and lectures to educate ourselves, we taught community members about marine debris, storm drain transport and runoff, sustainable products and practices, renewable energies, and global climate change. Our eco-projects included beach clean ups, a school-wide plastic bottle cap drive, erecting a REthink Art Display on the 3rd St. Promenade made out of the collected 34,727 bottle caps, organizing two student marches against single-use plastic products, testifying at City Hall to express our support of the ban on plastic bags from all retail stores in SM, building a solar-powered boat for the Solar Cup, joining Jane Goodall's Roots and Shoots Program to spread our ideas and network, partnering with the Surfrider Foundation in their Teach and Test ocean water quality monitoring program, advocating for the preservation of the Ballona Wetlands, restructuring the website to facilitate updates by future Team Marine, presenting at several gatherings including a Generation Earth Water Pollution Prevention Workshop, and teaching at several different schools.

Team Marine 07-08 in QuikSCience Challenge: We attended many conferences, workshops, and lectures to teach ourselves about sustainable living and the effects of plastic on marine life. We attended beach cleanups, conducted a plastic bag drive at our school, displayed a REthink Art Piece on the beach near the bike path using the collected 111 lbs of plastic bags, testified at City Hall to persuade city council members to ban single-use plastic bags from retail stores in SM, organized two student marches to promote reusable bags over plastic bags, hosted and presented in a Generation Earth Water Pollution Workshop, created the Team Marine environmental website, made a humorous environmental educational video that we posted on Youtube, and organized and presented in Focus the Nation Day at Santa Monica High School to raise awareness about global climate change and plastic pollution in the ocean, performed an eco-check survey at 8 local grocery stores to see which one carried the most bio-friendly products, and conducted a survey of plastic pollutants before and after a storm. We won 1st Place in the QS challenge and won an all expenses paid trip to Cozumel, Mexico.

Team Marine 06-07 in QuikSCience Challenge: We were the "guinea pigs," the first Team Marine ever!!! We conducted a school-wide recycling survey involving 1050 of our peers, and after finding that many of our peers either didn't recycle or know what to recycle, we organized and presented in a school assembly with a recycling expert, Neil Guglielmo. We also organized a beach clean-up with 100 participants and later sorted, counted, and weighed all trash categories. Furthermore, we presented our recycling lesson plan and skit to several local schools and congregations, and made an iDVD movie of our environmental work (soon to be posted on Youtube by Team Marine 08-09). We won Best Community Service in the QS Challenge.

The solutions to the problems of Global Climate Change and Marine Debris start with the average citizen. Most may think that Global Climate Change is an insurmountable problem for one human to help, but it is small things that the everyday person does that makes the biggest impact. Global Climate Change is caused by the build up of Carbon Dioxide in our atmosphere, so what the average American can do is drive a low emission car, install a CFL light bulb, support alternative energies such as solar and wind, and incorporate the 10 R's in your daily lifestyle. Marine Debris kills over one million marine animals every year, 90% of it is plastic, and it is littering our beautiful beaches.

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Heal The Bay-Heal the Bay is a nonprofit environmental organization dedicated to making Southern California coastal waters and watersheds, including Santa Monica Bay, safe, healthy and clean. We use research, education, community action and advocacy to pursue our mission.

Surfrider Foundation-The Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of our world’s oceans, waves and beaches. Founded in 1984 by a handful of visionary surfers in Malibu, California, the Surfrider Foundation now maintains over 50,000 members and 90 chapters worldwide.

Algalita Marine Research Foundation-The Algalita Marine Research Foundation is dedicated to the protection of the marine environment and its watersheds through research, education, and restoration.

Root and Shoots-The Roots & Shoots program is about making positive change happen—for our communities, for animals and for the environment. With tens of thousands of young people in almost 100 countries, the Roots & Shoots network connects youth of all ages who share a desire to create a better world.

1 Bag at A Time-1 Bag at a Time is committed to supplying the highest quality reusable bags available and to promoting awareness about the full impact of disposable bags. We believe in the power of consumer and corporate responsibility as a positive force in the world.

Generation Earth-Generation Earth is an environmental education program of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works presented by Treepeople. We provide development training and personalized support to secondary school teachers and students in Los Angeles County. Our approach is to encourage and assist those who want to make a difference in their local environment through campus and community eco-projects.

Plug In America-Plug In America drives change. We accelerate the shift to plug-in vehicles powered by clean, affordable, domestic electricity to reduce our nation's dependence on petroleum and improve the global environment.

Friends of the Ballona Wetlands-Friends of Ballona Wetlands’ mission is to champion the restoration and protection of the Ballona Wetlands, involving and educating the public as advocates and stewards.

The Ballona Institute-Ballona Institute serves as an educational center for research, restoration, advocacy, and exploration of the greater Ballona Wetlands ecosystem, including numerous geographic subareas in the Ballona Valley, bluffs and highlands. After 20 years of effort, more then 600 acres of the Ballona Wetlands ecosystem was saved when the sate of California acquired it in 2003.

The Daily Ocean-Hopefully I'll raise awareness for how much Plastic Marine Pollution is out there, that the solutions start with us right here on land, and that everyday we can make choices in what we consume and buy that can add up to make a difference. Lets inspire each other to change the world. Seriously.

Bring Your Own Bag-Bring Your Own Bag™ is a branded, re-usable bag program designed to help the environment by reducing plastic bag use. It is a program that brings together the retailer, the consumer and the community—all rallying behind one cause—to improve the environment we live in by supporting an important cause.

ACE(Alliance for Climate Education)-ACE is a national nonprofit dedicated to educating America's high school students about the science behind climate change and inspiring them to do something about it—while having fun along the way. Our extensively trained ACE educators visit high schools around the country to give students the scientific skinny on climate change through our fun & festive multimedia presentation.

ChicoBags-Chico Bag's™ mission is to reduce single-use bag waste by offering compact reusable bags and packs that are designed to be unforgettable. Chico Bag™ specializes in offering fashionable, environmentally friendly reusable shopping bags and lifestyle totes.

SAGE and Tote-a-lly Awesome-Tote-a-lly awesome is a bussines venture of Samohi's Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship (SAGE). Sage is committed to nurturing entrepreneurial spirit with the power of free enterprise through hands-on learning. We strive to instill social responsibility, civic leadership, and a sustainable lifestyle to prepare for a better tomorrow.

Plastic Pollution Coalition-The mission of Plastic Pollution Coalition is to stop plastic pollution and its toxic impacts on humans, the environment, and wildlife worldwide.Plastic Pollution Coalition provides a platform for strategic planning and coherent communications; increases awareness and understanding of the problem and sustainable solutions; and empowers action to eliminate the negative impacts of plastics on the environment, wildlife, marine life, and human health.