As you begin the school year, here’s a reminder of some of the free resources and programs the California Coastal Commission has available for classroom teachers, parents, troop leaders, after-school and camp counselors… for anyone who wants to share the wonder of the ocean and encourage coastal stewardship in our kids. Please check out the links below and email us at coast4u@coastal.ca.gov with any questions. Thank you and have a great year!

Coastal Cleanup Day is Saturday, September 17. Thousands of children, schools, and families take part at the more than 850 sites all over California. Visit coastalcleanupday.org to find a site and to view our helpful resources for educators.

Schoolyard Cleanups can be done as part of Coastal Cleanup Day or ANY time of the year. Do a simple community service project with your kids or use this program to dive into the Next Generation Science Standards “Science and Engineering Practices.” On the website you’ll find tips on how your students can Ask Questions and Define Problems, Plan an Investigation, Analyze Data, Use Mathematics and Computational Thinking,Construct Explanations and Define Solutions, Argue from Evidence, and Communicate Information all through a Schoolyard Cleanup Project. Get classroom lessons, powerpoints, videos, infographics, and more. Check out this video that Watsonville Charter School for the Arts students created to communicate what they discovered during their Schoolyard Cleanup.

Personal Fishing Line Containers are a way to help keep loose line out of the environment so that it doesn’t entangle animals. Make these handy tools out of reused tennis ball containers and either send them to us to distribute through the Boating Clean & Green Campaign or give them away in your own fishing community.Listen to a PSA that students from John Glenn Middle School in Palm Desert recorded after taking part in this project.

Free Lesson Guides for a variety of grade levels are available for download or by request. If you don’t yet have a copy of Waves, Wetlands, and Watersheds, Our Wetlands, Our World, or any of the other great materialsavailable free to you, get it now!

Stay tuned for this year’s Whale Tail Grants announcement coming after Labor Day. Grants will be available for marine education projects to non-profits, schools, and government agencies. Some past Whale Tail Grants have funded curricula, which are available for you for free!