Kids Ocean Day is Back!!!

Buchanan Elementary & STEM Participated

LOS ANGELES, MAY 26, 2022 - After being postponed over the last two years due to the pandemic, Kids Ocean Day is back at Dockweiler State Beach. Nearly 3,000 Los Angeles-area students participated in a beach cleanup to showcase their love and care for the ocean. This year’s theme, “J️Y in Nature,” was visually illustrated with the students gathering together in a massive aerial art installation spelling out the word J️Y with a heart in the middle. The aerial art program was created by John Quigley of Spectral Q.

“My team and I along with students, teachers, parents and volunteers are excited that we were able to finally go back to the beach to celebrate our love for the ocean,” said Michael Klubock, founder of Kids Ocean Day and the Malibu Foundation for Environmental Education. “Kids Ocean Day has brought a lot of joy to area students over the decades and we’re glad that we can continue to educate young people about the importance of taking care of our environment through a hands-on learning experience.”

Leading up to the beach cleanup, the Malibu Foundation for Environmental Education hosted months of school assemblies by Zoom about the adverse impacts of trash and litter pollution on the streets and how the rains carry the plastic debris down the storm drain and onto the beach and into the ocean, entangling the animals and polluting our food resources. The assemblies aim to empower kids to save the Earth, by connecting them to the beaches and ocean. The kids also bring the message home to their families to take action for a healthy environment.

“Young people are powerful and can make a huge difference even at an early age,” said Los Angeles Board of Public Works President Aura Garcia. “Cleaning up the beach today means diverting trash from the ocean for a healthier ecosystem and marine life.”

This year, Kids Ocean Day will be celebrated in cities across the state of California and is sponsored by the California Coastal Commission. Thousands of other kids will participate in similar events in San Diego, Orange County, San Luis Obispo, San Francisco, and Humboldt County.

"The Commission is so excited that we are able to sponsor and hold this event again," said Coastal Commission Chair Donne Brownsey. "The students who participate in Kids Ocean Day are learning and demonstrating how to be good stewards of our precious coast and ocean, while reminding us of the joy of connecting with nature."

Since 1991, more than 770,000 kids have participated in the Kids Ocean Day School Assembly Program and beach clean-ups as a unified demonstration of their power to take care of their beach. Kids Ocean Day is an environmental awareness event that incorporates composting, recycling and an overall reduction of plastic. The City of LA will help facilitate the recycling and composting of all beach debris and lunch refuse.

Created by Michael Klubock, Kids Ocean Day is sponsored by the Malibu Foundation for Environmental Education, the L.A. Sanitation and Environment Watershed Protection Program, the City of Los Angeles Board of Public Works, the California Coastal Commission, the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors and Keep LA Beautiful. For more information, please visit www.kidsoceanday.org.