4 Easy Steps to a Healthier Ocean

Happy World Ocean’s Day! Today we celebrate the ocean for the joy it brings us, the food it provides us, and the oxygen it supplies us. The mysterious and vast ocean with its other-worldly creatures captivates young and old alike. From nudibranchs and sea hares to sharks and rays, the ocean holds amazingly unique creatures. Unfortunately, many are threatened by human actions that negatively impact their habitats. Therefore, today must also be a call to action to protect these organisms and preserve our ocean!

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Ocean acidification threatens ocean ecosystems that include oysters, reefs, and the foundation of several food chains, plankton.

Ocean acidification is one way in which humans are driving drastic changes in the ocean. Ocean acidification is the alteration of ocean chemistry as a result of increased carbon absorption, which is a direct effect of increased carbon emissions. One serious consequence of ocean acidification is that it becomes very difficult for certain organisms, such as corals, oysters, and even plankton, to both build and maintain the calcium carbonate structure that they depend upon, such as shells and reefs. This can negatively impact the organism itself, as well as entire ocean ecosystems.

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Coral and sea urchins are also affected by ocean acidification.

Thankfully, we can control how much carbon we each emit into the atmosphere. Follow these four easy steps to reduce your carbon emissions.

Travel by foot, bike or trolley more often to reduce your carbon footprint!

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Environmental Education Specialist, Grace enjoying one of San Diego’s many bike trails.
  1. Spend less time in your car. This could mean riding your bike, walking, taking public transportation, or carpooling. The average car produces about 19.6 pounds of carbon dioxide per gallon. Reducing your need to fuel up helps to lessen your impact on the environment and your wallet all at once.
  2. Lower your electricity bill. This doesn’t just mean turning off lights, but can include simple and easy practices such as unplugging appliances when they aren’t in use, utilizing energy saving light bulbs, and enabling the sleep function on your computer.
  3. Buy local. Products have less distance to travel when you choose to buy locally made and grown products, reducing the amount of energy used to transport the goods.
  4. Practice the 3 R’s: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Go even one step further and purchase items made out of recycled material. Less energy will go towards manufacturing new products and finding natural resources to make them. Don’t know where to recycle something? Check out WasteFreeSD.org.

Looking for more tips? Come to our Zero Waste Summit this Saturday, June 11th in Encinitas to build your zero waste toolkit with great giveaways! The whole family is welcome to come out, tour our interactive booths, and hear from a panel of zero waste experts. With your effort, we can keep our oceans healthy and accessible well into the future. Enjoy World Ocean Day!

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ILACSD, Solana Center and Jimbo’s will all have interactive booths this Saturday!

Introducing Grace! Educator & Ocean Aficionado


We’re excited to welcome Grace as our newest educator!  Get to know Grace and what fuels her passion for the environment by reading our brief Q&A.

What brought you to ILACSD?

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When Grace isn’t in the office or the classroom, you’ll find her scuba diving, stand up paddle boarding and all around enjoying the ocean that she cares so passionately about.

I was very excited to begin working at ILACSD as an Environmental Educator because it allows me to combine my interests in Marine Biology and the ocean with my passion for teaching and conservation. From a young age, I was always inspired by the ocean and could spend hours looking at sea stars in the tide pools. However, it wasn’t until my college internships with Heal the Bay that I realized it was something I wanted to help protect.

During my very first Coastal Cleanup Day I was given the unique opportunity to do an underwater SCUBA diving cleanup under the Santa Monica Pier. We pulled out cell phones, cameras, bike tires, fishing line, and beach toys, just to name a few. Not only did we find trash, but we also found animals, including crabs and sea hares, living among the trash. Seeing how these animals’ lives had become so impacted with this trash was the moment that I knew I wanted to help make a difference. And by working for ILACSD, I get to make that difference by inspiring environmental stewardship in students throughout the county.

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Ocean acidification, caused by excess CO2 being absorbed into the ocean, makes it difficult for corals and oysters to make their shells.

What environmental topics are you most passionate about?

If it wasn’t already obvious, I’m extremely passionate about anything that has to do with the ocean. As an avid scuba diver, and someone who loves experiencing nature. One topic that is close to my heart is ocean acidification. Ocean acidification makes it exceptionally difficult for calcifying organisms (corals, krill, oysters, etc.) to make their shells. It is caused from excess CO2 in the atmosphere being absorbed into the ocean. By teaching students about how we contribute to environmental issues, it gives them the power to make positive changes that lessen their impact on our ecosystems.

What is your most recent environmental goal?

Even during my short time working at ILACSD, I have learned so much about trash. I recently learned $1 of every $10 spent goes towards packaging that is thrown away. My most recent goal has been to buy food with less packaging. This means buying different food items, going to different stores, and making sure fruits and veggies are a big part of my everyday diet.

What do you enjoy most about being an environmental educator?

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Grace engaging students in a discussion about how litter impacts marine animals. The jar she is holding includes bottle caps, a lighter and other debris that was found in an albatross’s stomach.

I thoroughly enjoy interacting with the students that I am teaching! It is fun to experience their personalities as I present and discuss important issues with them. By helping them to see another perspective on the world, they can have a better appreciation for nature, which inspires them to protect it.

Do you have a favorite presentation?

One of my favorite presentations is our Enviroscape presentation, which uses a model of city along with sprinkles to represent different types of pollution. It really allows the students to visualize how pollution can make its way to the ocean and impact the animals that live there. Typically we do this presentation with 3rd graders, which is a really fun age because they are all extremely excited to share their ideas and own experiences.

I also really enjoy presenting our watershed program to AP Environmental Science classes because it allows me to use my background in science to incorporate higher level topics such as ocean acidification and eutrophication.

For more information about our presentations, email our Educator Manager at education@cleansd.org!

Join Grace & the rest of ILACSD team in our efforts to keep San Diego, and the Pacific Ocean, clean and beautiful. Our next cleanup is on December 5th at Black Mountain Ranch – click here to learn more!

Also, if you’re interested in joining the ILACSD team, check out our open positions and internship opportunities!