NOAA Is Thankful for These Inspiring Ocean Guardian School Projects

By Alyssa Leadingham,
November 25, 2025

Since 2010, over 250 schools across the nation have ignited stewardship initiatives on their school campuses and in the surrounding communities as part of the NOAA Ocean Guardian School program. NOAA Ocean Guardian Schools propose and implement a school- or community-based stewardship project in an effort to protect and conserve their local watersheds, national marine sanctuaries, and the ocean.

Measuring Impact by the Numbers

This past school year, 98 schools across 18 states and three U.S. territories focused their efforts on five different stewardship pathways: school gardens/habitats, marine debris, watershed restoration, energy and ocean health, and “the six Rs” (Rethink/Reduce/Refuse/Reuse/Recycle/Rot).

Collectively, 12,447 students banded together to create a tangible positive impact on the environment. In total, they:

• Diverted 52,646 pounds of food waste from the landfill
• Removed 14,700 pounds of debris from campus or the nearby community
• Planted 3,774 native plants
• Distributed 1,267 reusable water bottles
• Reclaimed 589 gallons of water through the use of water catchment systems

These students were not alone in their efforts. Across the nation, Ocean Guardian School teachers handle the logistics of launching and maintaining these stewardship efforts for the students. Seven hundred and seventy-eight educators represented the NOAA Ocean Guardian School program this school year by inspiring the next generation of ocean stewards.

This holiday season, NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is grateful for the dedicated educators across the nation who inspire the next generation of ocean stewards. We asked those teachers to share success stories for the projects they led at Ocean Guardian Schools across the nation, and here’s what they had to say.

Diving into School Stewardship Projects

3D Printed Filters
Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy (Oakland, California)

Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy is located near an illegal dumping site that leads to high levels of microplastics and debris in the environment surrounding campus. To address this, students at the academy spent their third year in the NOAA Ocean Guardian School program designing and 3D printing prototypes of screen filters. These filters were installed on drain grates throughout campus to capture plastic debris before it entered the nearby watershed. Students also collaborated with parents and volunteers to create several art installations across campus to educate their peers and campus visitors about the importance of protecting marine ecosystems.

Maria Pirner, the lead Ocean Guardian School teacher for the project reflected, “A highlight of our outreach efforts was a two-day event centered on the theme of the four elements. The first day, our ‘day of learning’, brought together students and local sustainability leaders and organizations for hands-on education and dialogue. The second day, our ‘day of community’, featured student-led initiatives to revitalize our school garden, refresh existing storm drain murals, and create new ones — demonstrating student leadership and the power of collective action in protecting our environment.”

Beach Bucket Cleanup
Tongass School of the Arts and Sciences (Ketchikan, Alaska)

Tongass School of the Arts and Sciences students dedicated their third year in the NOAA Ocean Guardian School program towards reducing marine debris along their coastline. Students built and installed community cleanup buckets at local beaches to encourage community members to play a collective role in removing harmful debris from the coastal ecosystem. In addition to these permanent installations, students were also focused on conducting outreach to educate the community about how to properly use the debris cleanup buckets.

Their outreach efforts included an impressive presentation to the local school board. Dawn Rauwolf, lead Ocean Guardian School teacher at Tongass School, reflected on this momentous occasion. “It was a wonderful success to see our students working together to present to our local School Board. Our students practiced and prepared to speak at the public meeting, knowing that they would have to stand up there and present to the school board members.” Rauwolf was particularly impressed by her students’ newly gained confidence, mentioning that “The five students who presented to the school board had never spoken at a public meeting before and they did so well! I am very proud of their hard work and willingness to represent our school, sharing our Ocean Guardian School projects and initiatives.”

Reducing Waste, Restoring ʻĀina (Land)
Kanu o ka ʻĀina New Century Public Charter School, Ka ʻOhā - Molokaʻi (Kalamaʻula, Molokaʻi)

Kanu o ka ʻĀina has a unique learning model through its Ka ʻOhā K-12 offshoots on each Hawaiian island. Ka ʻOhā - Molokaʻi, the newest education option on Molokaʻi, is excited to also be the first NOAA Ocean Guardian School on Molokaʻi! This school year, students immersed themselves in the Kalamaʻula watershed and learned how they can reduce waste to keep the ʻāina (land) and kai (ocean) free of marine debris for fish and bird habitats.

This year’s project helped students recognize they are connected by the ocean; what starts in their backyard can end up in another's. Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuary, a major nesting area for threatened bird species and home for many endemic marine species found nowhere else on Earth, must be cared for through daily actions. Kanu o ka ʻĀina has pledged to do their part to help keep their own "backyard" clean, creating safer environments and habitats for their island home — from the younger Hawaiian islands to the kūpuna (elder) islands in Papahānaumokuākea.

Kilia Purdy-Avelino, high school kumu (teacher) and lead Ocean Guardian School teacher for Molokaʻi, emphasizes that less is more. “In today's generation where everyone wants more, our keiki (kids) are learning that in the case of our collective waste, the less we make, the better it is for our ʻāina and every living creature that depends on ʻāina for survival."

Composting in the School Garden
The Marietta Center for Advanced Academics (Marietta, Georgia)

The Marietta Center for Advanced Academics students and staff spent this past school year reducing school waste by starting a composting system to enhance their school gardens. Their natural compost helped to improve soil quality and productivity while controlling erosion to protect their local watershed. As part of their outreach efforts, students researched green purchasing and created videos and posters to share their new knowledge with their community. Collectively, Marietta Center for Advanced Academics students worked to divert nearly 200 pounds of food waste from landfills, picked up 28 pounds of trash from around the school community, distributed 320 reusable bags, planted 64 square meters of native plants, and installed 350 energy-saving light bulbs.

The principal of Marietta Center for Advanced Academics, Heather Woods, said that "Our students and staff have embraced the challenge of making sustainability a way of life. We’re proud not only of their hard work, but also their understanding that small actions in classrooms and homes can ripple outward to make a global impact. By doing their part now, they’re ensuring the world around them will be better than they found it."

Lifting Each Other Up
John F. Kennedy (JFK) High School (Tamuning, Guam)
Simon Sanchez High School (Yigo, Guam)

In May 2023, Typhoon Mawar destroyed Simon Sanchez High School in Yigo, Guam. In response to this natural disaster, JFK High School and Sanchez High School students have been sharing the JFK campus and their NOAA Ocean Guardian School efforts. Their Ocean Guardian School projects over the past school year have consisted of beach and community clean-ups around the island and conducting community outreach about marine debris. Their community outreach efforts involved hosting Parent-Teacher-Student Association workshops, sharing updates on their website, creating and sharing social media posts, and organizing in-person community events. This past year’s project generated more than 1,000 student service learning hours.

Natural disasters and the COVID 19 pandemic have posed various challenges for students over the past four years at both campuses in Guam. Despite these challenges, students have found the NOAA Ocean Guardian School program to be impactful on their future endeavors. Carolyn Haruo, lead Ocean Guardian educator at JFK High School, emphasizes this impact by stating, “The NOAA Ocean Guardian School program created space for my students to become better versions of themselves. Former students still write back to talk about the impact the program has on their college education or careers.” Haruo reflected, “My favorite stories include: ‘I got this internship because I was an Ocean Guardian’ or ‘My class was so easy because I already learned those things from Ocean Guardian School.’”

Embracing Farm to Table
Chimacum Elementary School (Chimacum, Washington)

Chimacum Elementary School chose to focus on school gardens and healthy habitats for their third year of Ocean Guardian School programming. The students participated in hands-on learning opportunities that covered a variety of topics related to cultivating a successful and productive garden. This included, but was not limited to, vermiculture and composting, creating pollinator habitats, and supporting a healthy watershed through responsible gardening choices. Through schoolyard based projects as well as visits to local community organizations, students learned about the entire farm to table process and got to celebrate their successes by giving back to their families and community members.

Al Gonzalez, lead Ocean Guardian School teacher at Chimacum Elementary, expanded on this unique celebration: “This year students grew ingredients for and prepared a "read and feed" meal to share with families in conjunction with our read-a-thon. Each grade level was responsible for an element: herbal tea, potato-leek soup, a dinner roll made with locally grown and milled flour, pumpkin cookies, and even a garden salad with carrot confetti using a special new variety of Fantasia carrots our students have helped to develop.” Gonzalez emphasized, “Our students' efforts fed over 150 family and community members”

The school also completed its first small production cycle in the school kitchen — harvesting approximately 96 pounds of school-grown blueberries, 334 pounds of potatoes (including the native Ozette potato), and 903 pounds of pumpkins and winter squash.

Recycling Water Through Rain Gardens
Jovita Idár Elementary (Chicago, Illinois)

Jovita Idár Elementary spent their third year in the NOAA Ocean Guardian School program focused on addressing urban flooding in their community by planting a series of rain garden systems throughout campus. The main priority of these rain gardens was to assist with reusing and recycling water that flows through campus during major storm events. By establishing these gardens, students were able to learn more about urban agriculture, composting systems, and the importance of maintaining positive and productive water runoff systems through water collection and intentional planting.

Ryan D. Johnson, lead Ocean Guardian School teacher at Jovita Idár Elementary is reminded of a powerful aha moment that came up for one of his students during the first full day of planting in the restored prairie. “A group of 7th and 8th grade students, many of whom had never gardened before, worked alongside younger students to carefully place each native plant in the soil. One student paused and said, ‘I didn’t know we were allowed to just dig all this up’, to which an older student answered, ‘We are just getting rid of these lame plants and getting it back to the way it was a long time ago.’”

For Johnson, that moment captured the heart of the project, empowering students to see themselves as environmental stewards and change-makers. “It wasn’t just about planting, it was about purpose and taking pride in improving their school and local environment,” he said.

Join the National Movement

The NOAA Ocean Guardian School program continues to expand service for Pre-K-12 schools across the nation. This past school year, four new states joined the program to collectively safeguard our nation’s watersheds and coastlines. With dedicated students and teachers at the helm, NOAA Ocean Guardian Schools are paving the way for community action. Together we can make a concerted impact on our one global ocean by opting to use reusable products, conserving water at home and in our communities, powering down our electronic devices when not in use, developing campus or community gardens, and finding various ways to divert waste from landfills and marine ecosystems.

Does your school have what it takes to help safeguard the ocean and environment for future generations? The 2026–2027 application will be available to download from our website by early April 2026. Please review the NOAA Ocean Guardian School Program Guidelines and Requirements for more detailed information about the program prior to submitting an application.

Alyssa Leadingham is the NOAA Ocean Guardian School program coordinator at NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.

The NOAA Ocean Guardian School Program is managed by NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.

Rachel Plunkett is the content manager and senior writer/editor for NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries