A substantial amount of marine debris in the united states originates from land-based litter

This Cooperative Agreement award of $1,272,172 from the Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), under the Marine Debris Program (CFDA 11.999), will fund One Cool Earth's Earth Genius program to reduce marine debris originating from land-based litter in California. Specifically, the project will work with K-12 schools, indigenous groups, and other partners across 24 underserved school sites in California's central coast region to modify litter-related behaviors among youth aged 19 and under that live in coastal watersheds. The project aims to directly benefit local NOAA trust resources like the Channel Islands and Monterey Bay national marine sanctuaries by reducing marine debris. Key products and services include outreach focused on waste disposal behaviors to reach youth aged 19 and under across the partner school and community sites. The award period is from September 1, 2022 through August 31, 2024.

Youth under the age of 19 are an important age group to reach with messages about what they can do to prevent marine debris, and modifying litter-related behaviors among youth in coastal watersheds is an important way to reduce marine debris. One cool earth's (OCE) earth genius program brings together an alliance, including nonprofits, public schools, indigenous groups, and government entities, to reach litter-aged youth and affect their waste-disposal behaviors. Located on the central coast of california, this project will directly benefit local NOAA trust resources: the channel islands and monterey BAY national marine sanctuaries, the morro BAY national estuary, and area fisheries and recreation. The project will focus on 24 underserved k-12 school sites where an average of 52% students are non-white (predominantly latinx), 50% qualify as low-income, 24% are english-language learners (predom