Wheelabrator Symposium team gets major accolades
Eco-Warrior Project found pays visit to students
West Deptford, N.J. – While doing their part to promote the importance of keeping our oceans clean as part of their participation in Wheelabrator’s Symposium for Environment and Education, students from West Deptford Middle School were thrilled to find out their efforts were recognized by someone who has dedicated his life to the ocean preservation. That someone was James Pribram, founder of the Eco-Warrior Project, an organization based in California and dedicated to protecting oceans, beaches and sea life worldwide through education, knowledge and participation.
The project he celebrated was developed by the West Deptford Middle School team, which conducted a study on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, where different types of waste (mostly plastic) enter the currents of the world’s largest ocean to create what’s now the world’s largest patch of garbage.
Their presentation earned them the Best Outreach Award at this year’s Symposium. or the project, the team:
- Learned the impact of litter within a community and on the ocean
- Completed an analysis of the types of waste and compared this information with a marine debris biodegradation timeline
- Developed a campaign to communicate about the garbage patch through a website and through social media
- Educated third and fourth graders on the problem for future
In addition, the group traveled to Wildwood Crest, N.J. to work with Clean Ocean Action on an annual beach cleanup. This outreach won the attention of Pribram, who has dedicated his life to ocean preservation. On June 9, he visited West Deptford Middle School to present to an environmental assembly and recognize the students’ efforts.
“I was so inspired after reading about what the WDMS Wheelabrator team did this year,” James Pribram said. “The students truly are making the change in the world that they would love to see.”
“This story not only heightens awareness of the litter issue and threat to our beaches,” Casey Lattanzio said, the Symposium team’s teacher-sponsor. “It also proves that we can all have our voices heard and make a difference. The Symposium team will continue to spread the word and build upon the foundation of this community outreach initiative.”