Educating San Diego’s youth about the importance of clean water and healthy marine ecosystems is a priority for San Diego Coastkeeper. Thanks to our environmental science education program, Project SWELL (Stewardship: Water Education for Lifelong Leadership), more than 50,000 students are personally involved in protecting San Diego’s natural water resources annually.

Project SWELL is hands-on, K-12 water quality and pollution prevention curricula that teaches children about the importance of our recreational waterways and human-water interaction from both environmental-conservation and environmental-science standpoints.

Most children (as well as their parents) are unaware that our bays and beaches are dangerously polluted, and ever fewer understand the role we play in this problem and must play in its solution. This unique San Diego-based education program supports progressive change by educating students on ways they can minimize impacts to this sensitive coastal environment and address environmental issues pertaining specifically to our region.

Project SWELL is in Kindergarten,  2nd, 4th, 5th & 6th grade classrooms in San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) and in 5th grade in Oceanside Unified School District (OUSD). In 2011, we will launch the 1st grade curriculum in SDUSD and the 6th grade lessons in OUSD.

Coastkeeper is working to expand the program county-wide to enhance environmental awareness among every K-12 student in San Diego County. Through Project SWELL, we can help empower and educate these future leaders of America to understand and improve the condition of San Diego’s coast and waterways. Read more about Project SWELL.