LOS ANGELES — The first "Kids Ocean Day" event was held in 1994 and nearly 30 years later, Michael Klubock says his mission has become even more critical.
"At the core of this is bringing these kids here to fall in love, to fall in love with the resource and then want to take care of it," he said.
As Executive Director of the Malibu Foundation for Environmental Education, Klubock goes into K-5 classrooms throughout the LA area and teaches kids about keeping trash and plastic out of the ocean.
“When it rains, the trash from the neighborhood comes down to the beach and out into the ocean and harms the animals, so they’re prepped with that information and then they come down to the beach,” Klubock said.
On May 25, thousands of grade school students will flock to Dockweiler Beach in Playa Del Rey, some for the very first time, putting what they’ve learned into practice.
“Clean up the beach!” one kid said.
“Throw your trash in the trash can. Don’t just like throw it in the streets,” said another.
Following the beach cleanup, the kids and volunteers join to create different shapes with their bodies. In previous years, it’s been a whale with SOS, a big red heart, a fish, and other messages. This year’s image will be an ancient wave with the theme, “Give the Ocean a Chance to Renew Itself.”
“This is a wave of kids in action to protect the ocean,” Klubock said.
“About 13% of these kids have never been to the beach before and a lot of them also very infrequently, and a lot of these schools, this is their only field trip for the year,” he said.
And it’s that moment of discovery that keeps Klubock and hundreds of other volunteers coming back year after year.
“When a child who’s never been to the beach before steps off the bus and goes, ‘Wow! This is incredible! This is so beautiful! I think I can take care of it. I think I can save it,’ so then I think, you know, I’ve done my job,” Klubock said.
Creating a coalition of kids who love the ocean and the creatures who live in it, hoping to turn the tide against trashing the seas.
“It’s a very classic teaching model of show somebody something they love, show it being damaged, and give them something to do about it,” Klubock said.
Klubock is still looking for dozens of adult volunteers. You can find more information by clicking here.
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