Thousands of children will gather at Dockweiler State Beach to pick up litter, create aerial artwork and learn more about how to keep the beach and ocean clean next week as part of Kids Ocean Day.

Students from Hancock Park Elementary School and more than 3,500 others will gather at Dockweiler State Beach on May 14. (photo courtesy of Kids Ocean Day)

More than 3,500 students from approximately 30 schools throughout Los Angeles will participate in the 22nd annual Kids Ocean Day on May 14 at 10 a.m. Kids Ocean Day is a project of the Malibu Foundation for Environmental Education. Students and teachers will participate by picking up litter, recycling and creating an aerial artwork of fishes and message that will read, “Unite for the Ocean” showcasing a Los Angeles student’s fish design with the help of aerial artist John Quigley.

Hancock Park Elementary School has been participating in Kids Ocean Day for the past five years. Special education instructor Aileen Chan-Tabe will bring her 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students to the event.

“It really creates awareness for the Earth, for the kids to take care of the Earth. This is where they live. They learn what they do in their community directly relates to the ocean,” Chan-Tabe said. “Everything goes through the storm drains.”

After last year’s Kids Ocean Day, Chan-Tabe’s students became more aware of debris and litter on the street.

“The kids are noticing different things now. They’re making the connection with pollution and saying, ‘No, those things will hurt the turtles in the ocean’,” Chan-Tabe said.

In 1991, former sailor Michael Klubock founded the Malibu Foundation for Environmental Education, with the intent of getting more children involved in environmental issues.

“I’m a sailor. I love the beaches and oceans. It’s not that complicated. I was brought up in New England swimming, boating and enjoying the ocean,” Klubock said.

Klubock participated in beach clean ups and ocean conservancy efforts. However, he saw that there weren’t many children participating. After being influenced by other environmental activists, Klubock put together a slideshow presentation that highlighted the harm ocean and beach pollution causes animals.

“I expanded that slideshow with a lot more animals in it, and I talked about the storm drain connection with ocean pollution,” Klubock said.

In the early 1990s, the issue of rainwater runoff through urban storm drains carrying debris, oil, fertilizer and other pollutants began to be a focus of ocean conservation work, according to Klubock.

“When kids saw the animals in my slideshow presentation, they discovered pretty quickly the very real dangers for animals. Kids have an automatic empathy for animals and danger,” Klubock said.

New Los Angeles Charter School has also been participating in Kids Ocean Day for approximately five years.

Assistant principal Kate O’Brien, of New Los Angeles Charter School, participated in Kids Ocean Day with a different school prior to working at the charter school. When her 6th grade teachers and students started discussing ocean conservancy, O’Brien mentioned her past participation with Kids Ocean Day. The school has been participating ever since.

“The students have been really excited. Part of our mission is engagement in the community. We have a social justice focus at the school. We do a lot of stuff about how you can help and contribute to the community,” O’Brien said.

The students are learning how everyone, no matter where they are, still impacts the oceans and ocean animals, O’Brien said.

What started off as regional — although heavily attended since the beginning — has grown into an international event with Kids Ocean Day events happening in Hong Kong and Tijuana.

Kids Ocean Day is supported by the California Coastal Commission and the city of Los Angeles’s Stormwater Program, which has funded the project as part of its public outreach, according to Klubock.

“The oceans are in trouble. They’re dying. There are big, serious issues with the plastic in the ocean, with oil pollution and coral reefs dying. There’s a crisis going on with the ocean, and these kids are doing what they can,” Klubock said.

With Kids Ocean Day only one week away, Klubock is still looking for approximately 60 to 70 more volunteers.

For people interested in registering as a volunteer for Kids Ocean Day, visit http://kidsoceanday.org/volunteer-explanation/.