Barely escaping the threat of Hurricane Patricia in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Mark Andrews had quite a story to tell his Ecological Science class. His goal is to teach his students about the natural world and how it works. That is science.
For class, Andrews scheduled Rachel Kippen and Matt Miller from “Save Our Shores” to do a presentation about environmental issues for the students. The kids were spellbound – these were not two young adults with a college education going straight into corporate life. They had done internships, traveled, and developed a love for the environment, and now work at a job that they love.
The goals of “Save our Shores” are to promote awareness, to advocate for clean seashores, and to take action on conservation issues. Everyone knows about SOS’s ongoing MontereyBay beach cleanup programs. But less well-known is their work to educate people on various environmental topics, for example, the proliferation of single-use plastic bags.
We found out that although Santa CruzCounty has banned the use of single-use plastic bags in stores, the City of Scotts Valley has not yet done so, however, many local businesses have voluntarily complied with the order.
With the use of rubber bands placed around our thumbs and pinky fingers, Kippen showed how nearly impossible it is for birds and sea creatures to disengage themselves out of the plastic material once they are caught in it.
Miller’s favorite current program is the Dockwalker Program. He promotes clean boating by inspecting small boats for small oil leaks/spills to save polluting the ocean.
They brought with them a surfboard decorated with all sorts of plastic items and other things found at the beaches. Two quart-size glass jars holding a variety of plastic items found while beachcombing were passed around.
The students were impressed and hopefully some of them will be inspired to become environmental scientists.
