Elementary school students are putting into practice what it means to be environmental stewards.

For the past two years, Forest Grove Elementary School has been making strides toward keeping our oceans clean with a program called Ocean Guardians. The program, led and funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, helps children learn to protect the ocean through hands-on experience and advocacy. Students become empowered through education, informative field trips, and scientific speakers – all with the common goal of reducing plastic waste in the environment.

One speaker who has come to our school multiple times is Tom Kieckhefer from Save the Whales. He has enlightened us about watersheds, helping us understand how our activities on land are connected to the ocean.

We have also changed our own practices to make an impact. Using our Ocean Guardian grant, our teacher purchased reusable metal water bottles for intermediate students, and kindergarten students received reusable snack bags. By doing this, we have helped reduce plastic waste upstream.

For years, the teachers here at Forest Grove have taught children about respecting the environment and preserving it for future generations. We have taken multiple field trips to the beach, observing the beauty of the oceans we are trying to protect. We have gone to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where we see the creatures that are affected daily by humans and our interference in their environment.

Forest Grove is also dedicated to keeping our campus clean and making sure that we do not contribute to putting waste in the ocean. Everyone at the school is included in the effort. Fourth-graders make presentations to the entire school, enlightening them on the problems our oceans are facing and what we can do to help.

It is not just students who can make a difference.

Last year, the oldest students (fifth-graders) started a club that writes scripts for presentations with the goal of sharing our love of the ocean and ideas for what we can do to make a difference. The Ocean Guardian Club did community outreach at Robert Down Elementary School about the importance of reducing plastics in the oceans.

I loved being a founding member of the Ocean Guardian Club and I continue to pick up trash that I see, and I always take a reusable water bottle with me when I go to a sports practice or hiking.

The Ocean Guardians are passionate about what we are doing and presented to the PGUSD school board about local efforts to conserve our oceans. In writing this story, I hope to share our inspiration with readers of all ages – it is not just students in Ocean Guardian schools who can make a positive impact.

Forest Grove’s Ocean Guardians work hard to achieve our goals. NOAA makes it possible for our school and many others to make a difference in our communities, as well as in the ocean.

ELLIE SALAMEH is a sixth-grader at Pacific Grove Middle School. She attended Forest Grove Elementary School and participated in the Ocean Guardian program in fourth and fifth grades and is now a volunteer. Learn more at sanctuaries.noaa.gov/education/ocean_guardian.