Summer 2019 Newsletter
MERITO Academy students celebrate the end of the school year at the Channel Islands
Montalvo Elementary student hands an Angler Fish made of paper mache to Collin Boys of Ventura Water in appreciation for their support.
R.J. Frank students learned about protecting our Channel Islands Marine Sanctuary and National Parks at Santa Cruz Island.
Thanks to the generous support of the Channel Islands Harbor Foundation 408 students participating in our MERITO Academy in 2018-2019 program visited Santa Cruz Island this spring. As usual , highlights included sightings of the island fox, common dolphin, island scrub jay, and humpback whales.
Participating schools include Park View, Sierra Linda, Sunkist, Montalvo and Hollister Elementary public schools, and RJ Frank Middle School located in 4 cities of the Santa Barbara Channel (Ventura, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, and Goleta).
Students present outstanding environmental solutions during the EECCOA Challenge and Awards Event 2019!
The EECCOA Challenge and Awards Ceremony 2019 celebrated the efforts of 71students that authored 17 finalist proposals to lower the environmental footprint of their school campuses. The finalists were selected from 100 proposals within 4tiers: Energy Efficiency, Waste Reduction, Water Conservation, and OceanAcidification Outreach. During the event, the students presented their project proposals to a panel of judges who selected a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in each tier.
Thanks to all the volunteer judges, teachers and sponsors for your time, expertise and support.
Highlights from the Event
As the Keynote Speaker at the EECCOA Challenge and Awards Ceremony 2019, Ventura County Supervisor Steve Bennett offered encouraging words to students, teachers and the MERITO Foundation about our shared mission to empower youth and their communities to think and act in an environmentally sustainable manner.
Waste Reduction is the Solution
The U.S. is in a trash crisis. We produce more than 250 million tons of trash every year. Only 25% is recycled and 9% is composted (EPA). This year, students competing in the EECCOA Challenge 2019 recognized this as an issue in need of immediate attention at their school campus. Below are some of the solutions to reduce waste production in our region's public schools authored by EECCOA students. Choose the project you want to make a reality!
"Bottles for Profit"
Cole, Marcelino, Daniel, Osvaldo and Keifer from Jonata Middle School identified a business opportunity that would reduce 760 pounds of plastic bottles from ending up in the landfill or the oceanby selling them to the recycling facility to earn $1,447 per year.
Worm Life
Remi, Jackson, Alejandra, Michael, and Weston propose to keep 8,100 pounds of food wasted per year from going into the landfill by composting 50% (or 45 pounds per day) of lunch food waste at Anacapa Middle School. They also propose to use the soil and worm 'Poop' in the school's native plant habitat. The cost of this project is $3,844.
Jake and Dominic plan to replace one-time use utensils and trays with metal ones. By investing in this project, you will eliminate 1,500 styrofoam trays and 2,750 plastics utensils that are used and discarded at Mesa Union every week. The cost of to implement this project is $5,312.00
Your support will keep thousands of pounds of food waste, plastic bottles, plastic utensils, and styrofoam trays from going into the landfill.
Invest in our students vision for healthier schools and cleaner planet.
Best video made by students for the EECCOA Challenge 2019
Out and About
The MERITO Foundation participated in the World Oceans Day Festival that took place last Friday, June 7, at Harbor Cove Beach in Ventura, organized by Paso Pacífico.
Coming Up This Summer
We will be dancing with a purpose at Oxnard's Salsa Festival
The MERITO Foundation will be competing during the 2019 'Dancing with Our Community Stars' event at Oxnard Salsa Festival (July 27 & 28, 2019) to raise funds to provide ocean and environmental education to Ventura and Santa Barbara counties during the 2019-2020 school year.
We are delighted to be represented by Solovino, host for La M 103.7 PM radio, and Erika Martin del Campo, Professional Dancer & Attorney in Law from Santa Barbara.