Students from Carlsbad Unified School District presented their individual and team-based projects to city staff, families and teachers, highlighting creative ways to protect our lagoons and ocean from pollution.  

Watch the recap.  

These students have spent the last school year learning about the importance of protecting our watersheds, which are land areas that drain water to a creek, lagoon, and eventually the ocean. Students used monitoring and assessment strategies to conduct field observations and collect data on trash and pollutants in their communities. These strategies are the same ones developed by the state and used by city staff! Students then created sustainable solutions to reduce trash and other pollutants at school and in their neighborhoods. 

Some of their topics and solutions included: 

• Washing your car at an official car wash instead of your driveway to avoid urban runoff, which affects turtles and other marine life in our ocean
• Placing educational posters to reduce litter at trash “hot spots,” which are areas that may have more trash
• Planting more native plants that can prevent erosion and reduce pollutants 

Students also created posters to promote sustainability with catchy headlines such as: 

• Don’t be the “U” in Pollution 
• Pick Up Trash so the World Doesn’t Crash
• Don’t Litter or your Hunt the Critters
• Compost to Protect the Coast 
• Urban Drool is Not Cool
• You are the Solution to Pollution
• Be a Queen, Keep it Clean

The sustainability program is offered in collaboration with the city’s Environmental Sustainability Watershed Protection team and BCK Programs, a Carlsbad based company that provides ecoliteracy programs to educate and inspire students to take action in safeguarding our water resources. 

Environmental sustainability is one of the top priorities for the City of Carlsbad. Learn how to prevent pollution around your home and other sustainability initiatives on the city’s website.