Guest blog by McKenna Lenhart, Director of Operations and Communications, One Cool Earth
Here in San Luis Obispo County, California, protecting our creeks and coastlines is a shared responsibility. Our estuary, teeming with life and natural beauty, faces growing threats from pollutants that enter through creeks and rivers, impacting the delicate ecosystems that depend on clean waters. At One Cool Earth, we wanted to help. With support from the NOAA Marine Debris Program, we set out to bring marine debris prevention education into local schools, aiming to empower students to see how their choices affect our watershed and why it’s worth protecting.
Our vision was to inspire a generation of students to become environmental stewards, equipped with the knowledge and skills to make a difference. This past year, we launched the Sustainability Leadership Course for middle schoolers, developed with partners like EcoSlo, the Beaver Brigade, and the yak titʸu titʸu yak tiłhini Northern Chumash Tribe. During this lunch club program, students dive into topics like wellness, nature, economy, and society, learning that sustainability reaches into every part of life and that even the smallest actions can add up to real change.
Our goal is simple: provide students with hands-on experiences that let them dig, plant, and see firsthand the impact of their choices. Over the past year, we’ve been working with schools across the county to do just that. We’ve created five new gardens in elementary schools where students can feel the soil between their fingers and explore science concepts by growing plants. We installed signs featuring English and Spanish in 25 schools, inviting families of all backgrounds into these shared green spaces. Each of our partner schools are equipped with worm bin composting systems (vermicomposting), allowing students to witness their lunch scraps transform into rich soil. Campus cleanup kits, rain barrels, and “ocean-friendly pocket gardens” have shown students how small, simple tools can keep our environment healthy, from preventing litter to conserving water.
Our mission to connect students with their environment didn’t stop with school gardens. In partnership with the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, we’ve taken students beyond their schoolyards to the ocean, giving them a closer look at the ecosystems they’re learning to protect. In 2023, virtual field trips brought over 1,200 students into real-time interactions with marine experts. By 2024, nearly 1,400 students had visited the shores of San Simeon, experiencing the coast firsthand and seeing the beauty of marine life up close.
Creating lasting change takes a community, so we invited teachers to join us at “Garden Gatherings” to share ideas on zero-waste practices and brainstorm ways to weave environmental education into their classrooms. These gatherings transformed school gardens into places of connection and learning, sparking conversations about reducing waste and preventing marine debris. We built on these ideas to create a Marine Debris Prevention Manual, a practical guide full of waste reduction strategies for classrooms, cafeterias, and homes. Teachers, parents, and school board members have begun using these tips, making small changes that grow into lasting habits.
Green Teams are leading the way, demonstrating the impact young leaders can have. These students guide their peers in sorting cafeteria waste into landfill, recycling, and compost. During a campus-wide waste audit held across eight of our partner schools, entire school communities worked together to divert over 1,400 pounds of waste from the landfill in just one day—a powerful example of collaboration and shared commitment.
This journey has shown us the passion young people bring to protecting the planet and the real difference they can make. With the support of the NOAA Marine Debris Program and our dedicated local partners, we’re inspired to keep building a future rooted in sustainability—one student, one garden, and one positive choice at a time.