Working Against Pollution on Local Beaches One Step at a Time
Pioneer’s Beach Club is taking a stand against plastic waste and pushes for more coastal clean ups.
By Jake Brodrick
Pioneer’s Beach Club is taking a stand against plastic waste and pushes for more coastal clean ups.
By Jake Brodrick
Plastic pollution along the California coastlines has been a worsening problem for many years and while the majority of the state's beaches are far from perfect, the Pioneer High School Beach Club is aiming to make a difference with the cleanliness of our coastline.
The club is not the first of its kind. The Los Gatos High School Surf Club has the same goal as its Pioneer counterpart. The two groups work together to pick up and properly dispose of litter on public beaches. The club is led by President Tomas Nieto, 11, and Vice President Anna Murphy, 11. Inspired by their love of the beach, Nieto and Murphy founded this club with the desire to keep those beaches clean. To add to the collaboration, the club is sponsored by The Trash Punx, a local organization founded by Justin Imamura.
“I reached out to them a month ago because they came and did a presentation in the gym, they donated supplies and money to the club,” said Murphy.
Members of the club are there not only for the service hours, but also to spend productive time with friends outside of the classroom. Price Clayton, 11, has spent multiple Saturdays with the club and has had a good experience every time.
“It's very enjoyable, you walk around with your friends and pick up trash, you're at the beach I don’t know what else you could ask for,” said Clayton.
The club is made so that everyone has an opportunity to be involved in the different activities and meetings. Erin Sullivan, 11, feels that inclusiveness is a priority for the club.
“They’re all about inclusivity and no matter who it is they’ll welcome them to the meetings and the beach cleanups, it’s a really great group of people,” said Sullivan.
While the beach clean ups are not large-scale operations, there’s many different issues that people have to plan around and work with while trying to go to one. Regardless of the difficulty planning and coordination, attending the beach cleanups is still a worthwhile activity that's fun on your own or to bring friends to.
“Sometimes the turnouts aren't amazing, but really you tell people at the meetings to follow the Beach Club Instagram and it'll have the location and time and everything, it's always in the easiest area to see on the beach,” said Clayton.
The message of the Beach Club is just as important to their efforts. Advocating for environmentalism is a worthwhile mission in today's society especially for fighting against global warming and pollution.
“It’s important because we offer easy service hours for high schoolers and spread awareness of climate change,” said Nieto.
Other members see keeping our beaches clean as a duty to their culture and one that should be taken up by others in the community.
“We live in California so our beaches are a big part of our culture and society so if you care about them, you should clean them up every once in a while,” said Clayton.
Turnout for beach clean ups have always been very consistent, but having new members supporting the cause of environmentalism could greatly help the club and the coasts.
“Beach Club is very involved, you get to go to the beach, you get to clean up the beach, you get to save the animals, everyone there is really nice and inclusive, and you get a free trip to the beach,” said club member Katie Perez, 11.
The club is not the first of its kind. The Los Gatos High School Surf Club has the same goal as its Pioneer counterpart. The two groups work together to pick up and properly dispose of litter on public beaches. The club is led by President Tomas Nieto, 11, and Vice President Anna Murphy, 11. Inspired by their love of the beach, Nieto and Murphy founded this club with the desire to keep those beaches clean. To add to the collaboration, the club is sponsored by The Trash Punx, a local organization founded by Justin Imamura.
“I reached out to them a month ago because they came and did a presentation in the gym, they donated supplies and money to the club,” said Murphy.
Members of the club are there not only for the service hours, but also to spend productive time with friends outside of the classroom. Price Clayton, 11, has spent multiple Saturdays with the club and has had a good experience every time.
“It's very enjoyable, you walk around with your friends and pick up trash, you're at the beach I don’t know what else you could ask for,” said Clayton.
The club is made so that everyone has an opportunity to be involved in the different activities and meetings. Erin Sullivan, 11, feels that inclusiveness is a priority for the club.
“They’re all about inclusivity and no matter who it is they’ll welcome them to the meetings and the beach cleanups, it’s a really great group of people,” said Sullivan.
While the beach clean ups are not large-scale operations, there’s many different issues that people have to plan around and work with while trying to go to one. Regardless of the difficulty planning and coordination, attending the beach cleanups is still a worthwhile activity that's fun on your own or to bring friends to.
“Sometimes the turnouts aren't amazing, but really you tell people at the meetings to follow the Beach Club Instagram and it'll have the location and time and everything, it's always in the easiest area to see on the beach,” said Clayton.
The message of the Beach Club is just as important to their efforts. Advocating for environmentalism is a worthwhile mission in today's society especially for fighting against global warming and pollution.
“It’s important because we offer easy service hours for high schoolers and spread awareness of climate change,” said Nieto.
Other members see keeping our beaches clean as a duty to their culture and one that should be taken up by others in the community.
“We live in California so our beaches are a big part of our culture and society so if you care about them, you should clean them up every once in a while,” said Clayton.
Turnout for beach clean ups have always been very consistent, but having new members supporting the cause of environmentalism could greatly help the club and the coasts.
“Beach Club is very involved, you get to go to the beach, you get to clean up the beach, you get to save the animals, everyone there is really nice and inclusive, and you get a free trip to the beach,” said club member Katie Perez, 11.