Clear Blue Sea

BETTERING THE ENVIRONMENT THROUGH EDUCATION AND CLEANSING MARINE ENVIRONMENTS OF PLASTIC POLLUTION

CLEAR BLUE SEA COLLABORATED WITH THE SAN DIEGO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT TO TEACH SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS (STEM) EDUCATION TO OVER 1600 MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS, GRADES 6-8. THIS FUN, HANDS-ON PROGRAM INVOLVED ABOUT 40 CLEAR BLUE SEA INTERNS PROVIDING INSTRUCTION TO STUDENTS ABOUT OCEAN PLASTIC POLLUTION, MARINE ROBOTICS, THE FLOATING ROBOT FOR ELIMINATING DEBRIS (FRED), MARINE ECOSYSTEM CONSERVANCY, BEACH CLEANUP AND WATER TESTING - ALL OUTDOORS ON THE SHORES OF LOCAL BAYS AND BEACHES. STUDENTS LEARNED ABOUT THE EXTENT OF OCEAN PLASTIC POLLUTION WHEN THEY PARTICIPATED IN EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS ON BEACH CLEANUP AND DEBRIS SORTING. BY BEING INTRODUCED TO THIS ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS, STUDENTS GAINED A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF CLEAR BLUE SEA'S INNOVATION - FRED. STUDENTS ENJOYED SEEING DEMONSTRATIONS OF OUR FRED PROTOTYPE, FREDDY.

TO ACHIEVE OUR MISSION OF OCEAN CLEANUP, CLEAR BLUE SEA HAS IMPLEMENTED A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY APPROACH THAT INCLUDES: 1. SUPPORTING MARINE PLASTIC RESEARCH. CBSEA COLLABORATES WITH THE SCRIPPS INSTITUTION OF OCEANOGRAPHY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT SAN DIEGO (UCSD) ON MULTIPLE INITIATIVES, INCLUDING UTILIZING FRED TO CLEAN UP PLASTIC IN THE KENDALL-FROST MISSION BAY MARSH RESERVE IN SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA; GATHERING SAMPLES OF MICROFIBERS IN SAN DIEGO WATERS; AND COLLABORATING WITH THE SCRIPPS ENGINEERING DIVISION ON THE SELECTION OF FRED'S MARINE SENSORS FOR THE COLLECTION OF SPECIFIC OCEANOGRAPHIC DATA AND SAMPLES. 2. EDUCATING THE PUBLIC ON THE OCEAN PLASTICS CRISIS. CBSEA HAS INFORMED MORE THAN 1,800 K-12 AND COLLEGE STUDENTS ON OCEAN PLASTICS AND REMEDIATION INNOVATIONS THROUGH CLASS PRESENTATIONS, WORKSHOPS, AND INTERNSHIP PROJECTS. WITH GUIDANCE FROM ACADEMIC PARTNERS WE DEVELOP EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS ABOUT THE OCEAN PLASTIC CRISIS, THE NEED FOR GREATER RECYCLING, AND OUR FRED INNOVATION. 3. ADVOCATING FOR OCEAN CONSERVANCY. CBSEA FOCUSES ON COMMUNITY PROGRAMS AND EVENTS, INCLUDING BRIEFINGS TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND INTEREST GROUPS, ADDRESSING THE SCOPE AND IMPACT OF OCEAN PLASTIC ON OUR ECOSYSTEMS AND ECONOMIC SECTORS. WE ENGAGE WITH PUBLIC, ACADEMIC, AND CONSERVANCY AUDIENCES THROUGH ACTIVITIES SUCH AS BEACH CLEANUPS, PRESENTATIONS AT CONFERENCES, AND SOCIAL MEDIA OUTREACH. 4. INNOVATING OCEAN CLEANUP SOLUTIONS. TO DATE, CBSEA HAS SPONSORED 240+ HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE INTERNS TO DESIGN, BUILD, TEST, AND DEMONSTRATE THESE FOUR FRED PROTOTYPES: A. TWO SMALL-SCALE 6-FOOT FRED OPERATIONAL PROTOTYPES B. ONE MID-SCALE 16-FOOT FRED PROTOTYPE, LEVERAGING DONATED CATAMARAN HULLS FOR ITS VESSEL PLATFORM C. ONE FRED OPERATIONAL MODEL DESIGNED TO DEMONSTRATE THE VIABILITY OF A FRED DO-IT-YOURSELF (FREDDY) IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM. THE FREDDY PROGRAM WILL ENABLE ANY HIGH SCHOOL ROBOTICS CLUB OR COMMUNITY CONSERVANCY ORGANIZATION AROUND THE WORLD TO BUILD THEIR OWN FRED AND DEPLOY THE ROBOT TO CLEAN UP ITS LOCAL MARINE ENVIRONMENTS 5. REMEDIATING POLLUTED MARINE ENVIRONMENTS IN RIVERS, BAYS, COASTLINES, AND OCEANS. CBSEA SUCCESSFULLY TESTED OUR 16-FOOT FRED PROTOTYPE IN MARCH 2020. HOWEVER, THE ADVENT OF COVID-19 FORCED US TO HALT HANDS-ON FRED BUILD EFFORTS IN OUR WAREHOUSE AND TRANSITION TO WORKING REMOTELY. WHILE CBSEA CONTINUED WORK ON FRED DESIGN, SOCIAL MEDIA OUTREACH, WEB DEVELOPMENT, AND BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, WE WERE UNABLE TO CONTINUE IN-PERSON FRED DEMONSTRATIONS AND OPERATIONS. IN 2021, WITH COVID-19 SAFETY PROTOCOLS IN PLACE, OUR MARINE PLASTIC POLLUTION REMEDIATION EFFORTS ARE BACK UNDERWAY AND ARE FOCUSED ON THE KFMB MARSH RESERVE.