Up next on Eco Company, let's hear it for Team Marine from the beach to the lab to building
a solar powered boat, meet some teens who are taking protecting the ocean seriously.
I mean, in reality, we shouldn't be finding anything.
There should be no tracks.
We want nothing.
Exactly.
Plus, it's lunchtime, cooking for a crowd and learning about sustainability at the same
time.
Kids today need to know that they can make a difference.
They can spend time learning what is really good for them and what's not good for them.
Then quiet on the set.
Meet the teens behind the green screen, bringing eco news to their community.
Eco Company starts now.
Hey gang, thanks for tuning into the show.
I'm Adam.
And I'm Jessica.
First up, it's not your average day at the beach for some Southern California teens.
These guys go to school just a few blocks from the ocean, and they're going all out
to protect it.
Who wouldn't love going to school near a beach?
That's exactly what the teens at Santa Monica High School get to do every day.
But that means they also come face to face with all this.
It's trash on what would otherwise be miles of pristine beach along California's coast.
When tourists come to the beach, they look around and they say, "Wow, it is so clean."
But what they actually don't know is they're just getting a general standpoint.
When you really dig down, when you really get deep to it, it is really filled with trash.
That's not pretty.
That's where Team Marine comes in.
Team Marine is a multi-award winning action group of high school students that doesn't
sit on the sidelines, from cleaning up the beach and testing water quality to lobbying
against single-use plastic bags.
And even building a solar boat, these guys mean business when it comes to protecting
the planet.
Our oceans are highly polluted.
You know, you find so much stuff in the beach that just should not be there.
Today we're tagging along to see these guys in action.
They've taken off for the beach, along with Team Marine Coach Benjamin Kay.
Yeah, we're just mixing it right now, we'll sort of link it back later.
We quickly discover their work begins before they even hit the shoreline.
We're collecting a bunch of cigarette butts, some cups, some plastic wrappers.
If it doesn't have the oil inside, then it is recycling.
We can see what we can do before it got to the ocean and try to stop all of it from getting
here.
Zach Gold is also president of his school's Heal the Bay Surfrider Club.
So the beach cleanup doesn't just start at the beach, it starts everywhere.
So at your house, at your school, a public place, wherever there's trash, that's going
to end up in the ocean eventually.
Trash from land winds up in storm drains and when it rains, the runoff dumps in here.
When we get a heavy rain, it'll actually breach through all of the sand and all of the trash
that's been collecting in the storm drains will come running out into the ocean.
No rain today, just a beach of pristine sand or so it seems.
We are laying a transect tape down on the sand.
What do you got?
Hard plastic?
Awesome.
So what would you consider that as?
Would you consider that a hard plastic or a miscellaneous?
This would be a miscellaneous hard plastic piece, right?
So what are you guys working on over here?
Well today we are actually measuring transects.
Now what a transect is, is that a transect quantifies.
The amount of plastic or any other types of trash that are measuring on the sand or any
other surface.
Jocelyn Sarvian says it's a good way to figure out how bad the trash situation really is.
With that you're able to estimate over the surface area of the entire beach how much trash,
how much plastic, how much pollutants aren't on the sand.
It's info they use to lobby for better environmental protections.
Officials are going and saying is it really necessary to ban plastic bags to put regulations
on the beach to help clean up the beach.
We are able to take this information and take this factual proof and say yes it is and here
is why.
Here is the concrete proof.
Some of that proof is nearly invisible.
So Val, show us what you found.
Well right here in my hand it's really small to see.
I have plastic nerdle which is a plastic pre-production pellet which is made in factories.
They make a lot of these and then they put it in a mold and this can be made into a lot
of different plastic products.
Marine life mistake these for food and eat them and the chemicals they contain.
And then more animals eat it and different animals eat that animal and then that ends
up on our dinner plate.
That's a nightmare so it's always exponentially worse.
Chemicals and bacteria are what these guys are on the lookout for.
Every week they're out here collecting water samples.
Is there ever a day where the water just comes back clean?
Yeah there is.
It actually happens a pretty fair amount.
It was a lot worse but I think it's getting a lot better.
Well that's one piece of good news but before heading back to the lab to test these samples
one last beach cone.
And no one's happy about what they found.
I don't want my kids to see this.
We're living in a wasteland.
This is ridiculous.
In reality we shouldn't be finding anything.
There should be no facts.
We want nothing.
Exactly.
That's our goal.
Team Marines work doesn't end at the beach.
It turns out they got a few surprises for us back in the classroom.
This is Team Marines home base and it just might be the most colorful classroom we've
ever seen.
Science teacher Benjamin K has coached Team Marine from the beginning.
They're really leading a movement that's just so sorely needed on our planet and to
fix it and to fix our culture and get us on the right path of sustainability.
That message is everywhere you look in here.
From their giant mural made of hundreds of plastic bottle caps to Poseidon Team Marine's
boat which is powered by solar panels.
It took about seven months.
Students built this boat to race in a high school solar competition.
You raced with this.
Yeah, I worked on this boat for so long I wanted to race it.
Eileen Flores was the skipper.
We should start using alternative energy.
That's the whole point of this competition to show all these companies, kids can do it.
A bunch of high school kids can do it.
Why can't all these big companies think of something alternative instead of polluting
our environment?
Speaking of pollutants, it's time to head to Team Marines Lab.
This is where students test their water samples.
First, they add fluid, then put them in an incubator for 24 hours.
So the food that we just put with the samples, it can allow the bacteria to grow.
Here's a sample they've already taken.
Anything that shows up blue means it's testing positive for bacteria.
If the number is high enough, that means it's not a good idea to go into the water.
A certain sample from a certain place on the beach where we picked would be to not serve.
So from keeping an eye on water quality to promoting solar power and cleaner beaches,
Team Marine is looking out for the rest of us, but they say it's up to everyone to lend
a hand to clean up our oceans before it's too late.
The best way to clean up is to stop the problem, so make sure that you pick up after your pets
and don't litter ever and don't use pesticides because they will run off when you water your
plants and just try to keep everything out of the storm drains.
We want to show everybody that we can make a difference, we can change.
It always seems kind of redundant and kind of cliché that the simple things could make
a big difference, but we do try to promote that because we do believe it and we see it
every night.
The team Marine called to action, they hope to spread around the globe.
They're running the cameras and holding the mics, coming up, meet some teens who are running
the show, literally.
Plus, gardening in the big city, these teens are doing it, you can too.
How to grow your own food sustainably, then turn the leftovers into compost.
More eco-company is next.
Spending part of your summer in the great outdoors?
Cooking great food.
And getting to eat it too.
Of course.
What's not to love, right?
Just ask some teens that Jordan met up with.
Imagine getting to spend your day in a garden like this.
Well, we're with a group of teens who are doing just that, and they're learning about
all the ways we can go green.
Doing all kinds of veggies, putting them on the chopping block, even turning the leftovers
into compost.
In this garden oasis, these guys are learning what growing food sustainably is all about.
These high school and middle school students get to spend three weeks here, learning about
food systems, soil health, and zero waste.
It helps us understand how we could help the world, make it a better place.
Thanks to a program called Urban Sprouts, run by San Francisco's Garden for the Environment.
So tell us about the garden.
Well, the garden's been here for 20 years.
Nicole Breeze-Bois heads up the non-profits youth programs.
At the end of the day, what are you hoping teens get out of this?
Well, we think teens get a good sense of just going green, that they're living healthier
lifestyles, that they're more aware of where their waste goes.
We really focus on the compost and recycle and trash.
We also really hope that they have a better sense of what they're eating, where it comes
from.
They learn how farms are run.
Over here, you're growing beans, and how to save water, like with a gray water system.
When it rains, it hits off the top and goes down this way, into these tubes, and it starts
filling up these barrels, and after this one gets full, it goes on and on.
Rebecca Moore says saving water is a must.
Water is a limited resource, so once it's gone, it's gone forever, so we need to use
it wisely.
Another big part of gardening is learning how to compost, which just happens to be August's
4th's favorite thing to do out here.
So tell us about this huge composting bin.
Well, there's three different sections of the compost bin.
The not to decompose, the kind of decompose, and the almost fully decompose, and we throw
all of our garden matter in here, and after a while, we turn it and it gets more decompose
and all the bacteria and bugs in here decompose it.
After things decompose, it's into the sifter.
Once it's all sifted, you take it off.
And presto, you've got compost.
And just to show you how serious these guys are about compost, check this out.
This is our worm compost bin.
Lucky for Madison Worthington, she doesn't mind a few creepy crawlers.
And you pull it out and it has newspaper in it, and then below the newspaper is the compost.
There's worms in there who eat the newspaper as well as compostable food, like leftover
fruit and vegetables, and when they **** it out, that's compost, and we use it around
the garden to put around the plants as fertilizer.
They use it to grow fruits and veggies of all makes, shapes, and sizes.
We have some Vienna misalantro.
The Heaven Rodriguez is in charge of taking all these ingredients and whipping them into
something tasty every day.
My point of view when it comes to food is actually using more organic ingredients when
it comes to cooking and trying to cut out everything that has nothing to do with growing
your own fruits and vegetables.
And he's not alone.
We want to make sure that we're not consuming any pesticides or an organic material that
can harm our bodies.
And they're not just learning about food nutrition here.
Today they're taking it on the road.
They're headed here.
A restaurant where the chef will teach them about food sustainability.
They'll be here in a minute, but first let's go meet the chef.
It's prep time in the Kitchen at Nova.
We're serving up sustainable food is the only way to go.
We in our very small way of feeding people want to make a difference.
So we don't want to be part of the problem, and we also find that it's absolutely much
more delicious to use this style of food.
30 each.
Lawrence is the chef and co-owner here.
He visits six farmers markets a week picking out fresh produce like this.
This is a basil from Tomatara Farms.
Madison Growers, we've got some beautiful cucumbers today.
We use local organic lettuces and onions, potatoes.
Everything is pure on the plate.
Today they've got burgers on the grill.
Welcome, welcome, welcome.
Come sit.
Make yourself at home.
And it looks like the troops have arrived just in time.
My name is Lawrence, and I'm a cook.
And I've been cooking for a long time.
I started cooking when I was 14 years old.
Lawrence talks to his guests a few minutes about developing good relationships with farmers,
treating animals humanely and staying away from food made with artificial chemicals.
What we want is we want teenagers and young kids to grow food, to see where it comes from,
to understand that they can do something about the future of the planet, future of their
bodies.
All this is interconnected, and that's what they've got to understand is the big picture.
Now that these guys have worked up an appetite, it's time to serve them up.
So what's so special about these burgers, you ask?
Well, what we do with our burgers is different than the fast food places.
We use healthy meat.
It's one animal at a time.
It's not 12,000 animals ground into a giant patty and distributed frozen with tons of
eco-lice for, et cetera.
And there are no hormones or antibiotics.
This looks so good.
I think I'm going to give it a try.
From the looks of things here, everyone's with me on this one.
So what did these guys learn?
It's how animals have been treated differently from this restaurant compared to fast food
restaurants.
They were treated really well.
I learned how important it is to buy organic food instead of buying fast food.
So whether you've got your own garden or you're eating out on the town, these guys say it's
all about making the right choices when it comes to the food on your plate.
It's lights camera action.
Next up, meet members of the green screen.
We're hitting the record button to tell others about the environmental issues around them.
What do you get when you put budding broadcasters and eco-activists together?
A TV show run by students and Brendan's visiting the set.
Hey guys, we're behind the scenes of the green screen and you'll never guess who's
trying the show.
I think they're about ready to roll.
Let's see what's happening.
They've got their own studio, cameras to run, and even a control-boost man.
Meet the members of the green screen, bringing stories about living green to their viewers.
Green Screen is an environmental awareness TV show.
We educate teens around the Bay Area about the various environmental issues and what they
can do to help solve them.
All of our crew are most full through high school students, ranging from sixth grade
all the way up until 19 in the graduation.
Every month, these guys put together a half-hour TV show that airs on area TV stations.
We'll have a theme one month, we'll have a theme another month, we'll do our action
of the month, which is usually relevant to the theme.
Joaquin Navas is a graduating senior who's filled every shoe here.
We do a whole bunch of skits in shows.
We go out and we cut segments and we put them into the show.
We go out into the field and we edit all those and we put them together into one awesome
show.
Today Joaquin's manning a camera for an on-set interview with a couple of young eco-activists.
But he's not just a camera guy.
Oh, yeah!
Oh, look, it's a storm drain.
He's also the waste hunter.
It's one of the skits they produce to get viewers to think about what's going into storm
drains.
Once again, although glass is recyclable, it's not meant for the storm drain.
And these are just one way.
The green screen is giving viewers the scoop on how to live more sustainably.
The environment to me is an important thing.
I mean, it should be to everyone.
These guys are also hitting the pavement to cover environmental stories, both on land
and on the water.
We've studied a lot of marine biology and how important that is and certain qualities
about it we never knew of.
They've even now some interviews with environmental pioneers, something Adam Sherman is still talking
about.
We are here at the Goldman Environmental Awards, basically the equivalent to the Academy Awards,
and man, is it crowded right now.
Basically what the Goldman's is about is that they honor six people from all corners
of the habitable world, and they honor them for their service.
And we interviewed three of the six recipients, and that was probably one of the most incredible
experiences I've ever had, because you were there interviewing the top environmental activists
in the world.
So that, I will not forget.
The green screen out.
So how'd the green screen get its start?
Yeah, go ahead.
Here we go.
Are you comfortable with that?
With the help from Lana Husser of the non-profit Environmental Education Group, Earth Team.
And I said, "Well, you know what, this would be real fun.
Let's do a teenage television show."
The original idea was to feature Earth Team Youth out in the field to show other teens
what they were doing.
For the teens to get the environmental education, that's our main goal, is for them to understand
that we need them to be the environmental leaders, to be really taking control of this
planet, that they're going to be running in the very near future, in charge of cleaning
up the mass.
What are those teens, Tyler Jolly, started here when he was just 11.
It's an amazing experience in feeling, just being out there and knowing that you have
a voice and a lot of people don't really have that voice, or they do, but they don't
know where to show it.
We have it on our show.
We have it on the website.
We have an entire blog and a newsletter that we have on our website where students can
go in and post their voices, their questions, their poetry, anything they want to say about
the environment.
Even the small little thing that we can do can help all these different people.
Being on the green screen has definitely been one of the most enriching things I've
ever done.
So what do you think these kids are getting out of this?
I think they're getting memories that are going to last them for a lifetime, to the point
that they will be the environmental leaders of the future and they're going to help us
save our planet.
Something this green screen crew can handle.
Well, looks like that's a wrap and here's what's coming up next on the show.
If your campus is doing something to go green, we want to hear about it.
Grab your video camera and start rolling.
Create a video and upload it to our website at eco-company.tv.
More than a billion people don't have access to safe drinking water.
It's a huge problem and here's what some teens are doing to help.
Members of Santa Monica High School's Team Marine are recycling cans and bottles to
raise money for water purifies.
When we get a hundred cans or bottles and we collect them all up, we can trade them in
for a life straw because each recyclable container is worth five cents in California.
The straws work by filtering out bacteria and parasites that can make people sick.
It provides fresh water for people who are in need in their world countries.
They are teens making a difference at home and across the globe.
Wow, great view.
Well, that wraps up this week's show.
And do our website at eco-company.tv for more info and to submit your story ideas and videos.
We'll see you back here next time on Eco Company.
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