Two Saturdays ago, 19 OVS students participated in the beach cleanup to take a step toward helping the environment.
Seniors Allyanna Westcott and Alula Alderson gave students the opportunity to participate through the Ventura Surfrider Foundation.
Founded in 2006, the organization protects 43 miles of Ventura’s coastline. It fights for ocean protection, beach access, plastic reduction, and clean water. Every month, its volunteers remove thousands of cigarette butts and hundreds of pounds of trash.
Alula Alderson has set up several past environmental projects for OVS students, such as planting milkweed on campus and trees in the community. She plans to organize more projects, including another tree planting this October.
Alula and Allyanna chose to organize a beach cleanup this time because they hadn’t already done one and thought it would be fun.
Alula was shocked and excited about the number of people who signed up. She viewed the beach cleanup as a very good learning experience.
“I didn’t realize how much trash there was at our beaches,” she said.
Many students found the cleanup to be very fun and were inspired to attend more environmental projects.
Senior Annie Heinemann had a good time and turned the cleanup into a game to see who could pick up the most trash.
“We get community service for it, but it’s not the main reason I want to do the trash pickup. I want to do it because it’s an enjoyable time,” she said enthusiastically.
Sustainability representative and junior Chloe Ronning viewed the cleanup as not only beneficial for the environment but also the perfect opportunity for the community to connect.
“It’s all about coming together just to serve the community,” Chloe said, speaking to the importance of the students uniting.
The students who had the opportunity to participate in this beach cleanup were all able to get a lot out of it, such as learning more about the environment, having fun, and getting closer to their classmates.