Category : Features

Juniors Cindy Belkowiche and Sawyer Clemence work on their collage for the Rise Against Plastic Campaign, forming the day’s collection of trash into the shape of a jellyfish.

Currently in its second year, the Tesoro Surfrider Club has grown to become a club that includes motivated members from all grade levels with one goal in mind: cleaner beaches. The club was established over a year ago when presidents Lauren Sykes and Jeannelle Schweitzer had the idea to give Tesoro students a way to raise awareness of the effect of ocean pollution and enjoy the beach, all while earning valuable community service hours. Last year, events took place at least once a month and ranged from beach clean-ups to efforts to educate people at grocery stores about the dangers of plastic bags, using the infamous “Bag Monster,” a creature made up of over 600 plastic bags, to create a visual of the number of bags one person can use in a year.

With over 50 people at each beach clean-up from Tesoro and countless more from other local schools, the amount of trash collected was overwhelming. “The beach clean-ups were cool because you were able to see how many people were a part of the Surfrider Foundation,” said junior Danielle Shinmoto. “It’s nice to be reminded that Tesoro isn’t the only school dedicated to keeping our beaches clean.” Volunteers picked up everything from plastic water bottles to Styrofoam to shoes, which they then sorted and delivered to the Surfrider Foundation to be disposed of properly.

This year, more than 200 students signed up for Surfrider at Club Rush and even more have expressed interest by attending the club’s events. Since September, Tesoro has been a part of two beach clean-ups at Doheny Beach. “I was shocked to see all the Styrofoam and cigarette butts that littered Doheny; it seemed unreal,” said junior Kris Lange.

Attendees participated in the Rise Above Plastics campaign by creating collages with their trash, displaying some of the trash collected in a creative way. On Oct 28, the Surfrider Foundation held a “Nightmare in our Oceans” Halloween dance for clubs across southern Orange County. Members from Tesoro and other local schools dressed up in their Halloween costumes to celebrate. The Tesoro Surfrider Club is open to everyone at Tesoro and accepts members throughout the year.