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CUSD Scholars Receive Ocean Education from Project O, Laguna Ocean Foundation, and Rivian

Media Release
 

 

What do Compton Unified scholars, Rivians, and Project O have in common? Recently, 100 students from Davis Middle School and Clinton Elementary School went to the Rivian South Coast Theater in Laguna Beach to find out.

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Rich German, founder of the environmental conservation organization Project O, spoke to the students about the incredible ocean wildlife off Laguna and presented a tantalizing slide and video show featuring the many sea creatures, whales, dolphins, and orcas he’s run into.

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“Over the last 15 years, I’ve paddleboarded over 30,000 miles, had 2,000 encounters with dolphins and whales,” he said. “It’s so exciting to work with students and show them my photos and videos of these encounters and educate them not only on the beauty of the ocean, but also to show some of the challenges and issues that we face with the ocean and the environment as a whole.”

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“To see their faces light up when they see the photos is amazing,” he continued. “These kids get it.”

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Rivian hosted the event at their new theater space in Laguna Beach. This was the first time they hosted schools to a presentation like this, and explained that this is inline with the company’s commitment to keep the world adventurous forever.

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“At Rivian, we’re really passionate about protecting what we have here on Planet Earth for conservation and for enabling the spirit of adventure,” said Weston Barnes, Assistant Manager of Rivian South Coast Theater. “We really believe in investing in the next generation and equipping them with the tools to protect and conserve what we have in our backyard.”

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Afterward German’s slideshow presentation, the CUSD scholars checked out the Rivian EV trucks and then went to the beach, where the Laguna Ocean Foundation staff talked about the incredible impact humans have polluting the ocean. They also explained how we can help clean it up.

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“It’s actually really fun to learn about this,” said Karina, a Davis Middle School 8th Grader. “They’re teaching us about micro plastics and how they affect animals.”

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The students realized they can have an impact on what’s happening. “Microplastics aren’t good for the environment,” said Juliana, another Davis Middle School 8th Grader. “Again and again, with this experience, it’s confirmed to me we don’t know how to take care of our ocean. But what us humans can do to help the ocean and environment is reduce using plastic by a tremendous amount.”  

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