MAY 15, 2015--During the week of May 4, fifth graders from the Ocosta Elementary School in Westport, Washington, joined the Feiro Marine Life Center and the NOAA Marine Debris Program staff for a day of marine debris and ocean science education.

The activity was part of their “Education and Action: A One-Two Punch for Reducing Marine Debris on the Washington Coast,” a Prevention and Outreach grant funded by the NOAA Marine Debris Program.

In the morning students set out to the beach to discover marine life, big and small, along a wave breaker and hidden in the sand. Then students took a measuring tape, and followed (a modified!) NOAA survey protocol, measured 100 meters, and collected marine debris from the length of the survey, and for good measure, all around and beyond it, documenting what they found, and contemplating where it could have come from. In the afternoon the kids dissected an Albatross bolus to find plastic pieces in it, and learned more about marine debris fate and transport on the world ocean.

Click the links to learn more about the Feiro project , Feiro Marine Life Center , and Washington CoastSavers .

For more information, contact Nir.Barnea@noaa.gov.