NOAA Ocean Guardian Schools make a commitment to protect and conserve their local watersheds, the ocean, and special ocean areas, like national marine sanctuaries. The schools make this commitment by proposing and then implementing school- or community-based conservation projects within one of the identified project pathways:
- Watershed Restoration
- Schoolyard Garden/Habitat
- Energy & Ocean Health
- Marine Debris
- 6Rs–Refuse, Rethink, Reduce, Rot, Recycle
Schools that commit to completing the program take on a multi-year initiative to create community engagement to protect our oceans. All schools, coastal or in-land, have a connection to the ocean and can help support it. Alumni are schools that have recognized this connection and supported their students' efforts in their own communities over several years.
As of 2023, NOAA Ocean Guardian Schools had collected over 80,000 kilograms of trash, recycled 1.2 million plastic water bottles, and planted over 60,000 native plants. Yet, this is only the beginning.
Celebrating Ocean Guardian School Alumni in Texas!
Oppe Elementary
2017–2022, Galveston, TX
Pathway: 6Rs–Refuse, Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Rot, Recycle
Over 500 students took part in protecting the lower Galveston Bay Watershed by reducing the amount of pollution that entered the system, and teaching others about the importance of reducing pollution in coastal and local waterways.
These were some of their initiatives:
- Conducted school-wide waste audits
- Provided recycle bins and reusable cutlery in the cafeteria to reduce waste on campus
- Created a school garden with native plants and trees.
- Installed a rain barrel to collect water for the garden and a compost bin for garden waste
- Conducted multiple local beach and park clean-ups and removed over 200 pounds of trash
- Presented at several school open houses and community events to showcase their projects to students, families, district schools, district leaders, school board members, and community members
- Participated in the "Unwrap the Waves" recycling initiative and diverted 8,899 candy wrappers from the landfill! Students were allowed to name one of the Loggerhead Marinelife Center's sea turtle patients, Galvez, in recognition of their efforts
Dickinson High School
2018–2022, Dickinson, TX
Pathway: Marine Debris
Over 1,000 students took part in protecting the local Dickinson Bayou and Galveston Bay Watershed, and were able to bring awareness to issues in their local community.
These were some of their initiatives:
- Installed four new water bottle refill stations
- Created posters about reducing plastic use on campus.
- Provided refillable water bottles to all freshman biology and junior/senior aquatic science & environmental system students
- Grew smooth cordgrass on campus and used it to restore local salt marsh habitat
- Hosted local community and beach clean-ups
- Created videos about marine debris for social media and school news broadcasts
- Presented on marine debris topics to the school board, city council, classes, schools, and community groups
- Created two 4-foot x 8-foot murals to show the impacts of marine debris on sea life and the effects of microplastics in aquatic food webs.
Yorkshire Academy
2018–2022, Houston, TX
Pathway: Marine Debris
Over 100 students took part in efforts to lessen the impact of plastics in the environment and helped protect the local Buffalo Bayou watershed.
These were some of their initiatives:
- Gave presentations about microplastics and reducing plastic packaging to local communities and international companies from the United States to Norway, Africa, and the United Kingdom
- Compiled weekly data measurements of plastic recyclables and the number of water bottles saved in the school
- Studied the effectiveness of density separators used to separate plastic from sand at the beach, and how they could improve them
- Designed replacements for balloons and sold them on a student-created website and donated profits to the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and a local partner
- Created and sold annual calendars with student art and donated profits to the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation in support of Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary
- Painted murals throughout the school and community to show the effects of marine debris in the watershed
- Kindergarten students presented to fifth grade classes about trash and how to reuse or recycle it
