Students participating in the Kids Ocean Day cleanup also created aerial artwork on the beach. (photo courtesy of Kids Ocean Day / Megan Goedewaagen)

Approximately 4,000 students participated in the 26th annual Kids Ocean Day on May 23 at Dockweiler State Beach. The event followed the theme, “care for what you love,” and that message was visually illustrated through a student-led aerial art formation in the shape of sea animals and a heart.

“This year, we are celebrating our 26th year as thousands of children experience and love the beach, some for the first time,” said Michael Klubock, founder of the Malibu Foundation for Environmental Education and Kids Ocean Day.

In the months prior to Kids Ocean Day, the Malibu Foundation for Environmental Education hosted school assemblies about the adverse impacts of trash and litter pollution and how rain carries plastic debris into the ocean and onto the beach. The organization seeks to empower children and families to take action to protect the environment.

Since 1991, nearly 750,000 kids have participated in the Kids Ocean Day programs and beach cleanups.

For information, visit kidsoceanday.org.