Edna Maguire Students Clean Beach, Form an Osprey

Dozens of fourth graders joined hundreds of student from all over the Bay Area at the 19th annual Kids' Ocean Day Adopt-a-Beach Cleanup earlier this month. The students braved the wind and fog to clear up debris on San Francisco’s Ocean Beach.

Nearly 700 students from six San Francisco, Oakland and Marin County schools joined together to clean the city's coastline as part of the event sponsored by the California Coastal Commission and the Richardson Bay Audubon Center and Sanctuary in Tiburon.

After the cleanup, the students formed a human design depicting an osprey, a giant shield and spelled out the message, "Defend the Sea." An aerial photograph (attached at right) was taken of the formation.

A number of other groups are cleaning California beaches in the coming weeks to gear up for World Oceans Day on June 8, a day that highlights the importance of the ocean and the ways in which human activities affect it.

The event delivered a larger message to the students about their day-to-day habits and how it impacts the watershed, according to Audubon Center education director Wendy Dalia, who is also the parent of an Edna Maguire student.

"They learn how, even if they live miles and miles away from the beach, they're all connected to the beach through watersheds," Dalia said. "Everything they do helps protect the beach."

The Edna Maguire students were joined by students from Sunset Elementary and Ulloa Elementary schools in San Francisco, Bahia Vista Elementary in San Rafael and Willow Creek Academy in Sausalito.