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Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 12, 2013

Contact: Seaberry Nachbar, 240-472-9892
Vernon Smith, 301-713-7248

21 California schools receive more than $74,000
in NOAA grants to protect the ocean

NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries has awarded 21 K-12 schools in California with more than $74,000 in grants to help protect the health of the ocean. The schools received a Ocean Guardian School grants to implement a hands-on school or community-based project that helps protect and conserve the health of local watersheds, the ocean and special ocean areas like national marine sanctuaries.

Each school has been awarded up to $4,000 in funding to focus on one of five main pathways for guarding ocean health: watershed restoration, reuse/reduce/recycle/rot, marine debris, water quality monitoring, and schoolyard habitats/gardens. At the end of the school year, schools that pass a formal evaluation process will be officially recognized by NOAA as an Ocean Guardian School.

The 2013-2014 Ocean Guardian School grant recipients in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties include: Carmel Middle School (Monterey County); Carmel River Elementary (Monterey County); Tularcitos Elementary School (Monterey County); Captain Cooper School (Monterey County); All Saints' Day School (Monterey County); Stevenson Lower and Upper Schools (Monterey County); and Soquel Elementary School (Santa Cruz County).

"Ocean Guardian programs have improved the health of central coast watersheds and coastal beaches, reducing the amount of pollutants washed into the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary," said Paul Michel, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary superintendent. "During this past year in the Monterey Bay area, Ocean Guardian participants collected 6,700 pounds of trash from local beaches, removed 1,500 square feet of non-native plants from school communities, and eliminated the use and discard of 3,771 single-use plastic bottles."

Since the Ocean Guardian program started in 2009, 41 schools in California, serving 15,000 students, have received funding for their conservation projects. Data collected from past grant projects illustrate that Ocean Guardian schools continue to make a significant contribution to the protection of the ocean. More than 150,000 pounds of trash have been removed from local beaches; 109,000 square feet of non-native plants removed from school communities; and nearly 12,000 single-use plastic bottles removed from local landfills.

NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries serves as trustee for a system of 14 marine protected areas, encompassing more than 170,000 square miles of America's ocean and Great Lakes waters. Through active research, management, and public engagement, national marine sanctuaries sustain healthy environments that are the foundation for thriving communities and stable economies. Follow Sanctuaries on Facebooklink leaves government site and on Twitter @sanctuarieslink leaves government site.

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