News.bytes Extra, issue 535

Students Participate in Ocean Day Cleanup Event

More than 800 students came together with teachers, parents and volunteers to “take a stand in the sand,” at the annual Ocean Day cleanup event held Thursday, June 7, at the Mike Thompson Wildlife Area at the South Spit of Humboldt Bay in northern California.

Divided into teams representing their schools, the students were led by volunteers to work sites where they pulled non-native beach grass and cleaned up debris.

                
Students take a well-deserved lunch break.  A big pile of beach grass, right side of photo, is evidence of one group’s hard work.

The trip to the beach was the culmination of classroom preparation conducted by volunteers from Friends of the Dunes, who visited schools and gave presentations on the importance of conserving ocean and beach environments.

A  highlight of the event is creating a human “poster in the sand” for an aerial photograph.

A group leader instructs children and volunteers to their proper places on the sand.

Features of the artwork begin to take shape

And the final result is an eel with a memorable message.  The U.S. Coast Guard, Airstation Group Humboldt Bay provided the helicopter for the aerial photo.

Additional aerial video by local photographer Chad Johnson can be seen at www.friendsofthedunes.org.

The event is organized locally by Friends of the Dunes, a community based non-profit organization, along with the Bureau of Land Management’s Arcata Field Office.  The California Conservation Corps assists.  The program was created in 1994 by the Malibu Foundation for Environmental Education and is organized California-wide by the California Coastal Commission.

- Jeff Fontana, Public Affairs Officer, BLM Northern California District (June, 2012)

BLM-California News.bytes, issue 535 -- To subscribe to News.bytes, send an e-mail to: mailto:Join-Newsbytes@List.ca.blm.gov OR visit our News.bytes subscription page.