Algalita Foundation Archives

More than 125 students from 8 countries and 6 U.S. states gathered in Dana Point, CA, February 22-24, for Algalita’s POPS International Youth Summit. The 3-day empowerment experience held at the Ocean Institute has helped support 181 grassroots projects in 21 countries since its inaugural year in 2011.

This year’s teams represented the U.S., New Zealand, Africa, and Tunisia, in both coastal and inland, rural, and urban, communities. From providing food banks with reusable bags to instituting reusable utensils in their school cafeteria, these teams are addressing plastic pollution locally and with culturally and regionally specific solutions.

Experts and workshop leaders included: Dr. Wallace “J” Nichols, The New York Times best selling author, scientist, and ocean conservation enthusiast; Stiv Wilson, Director of Campaigns at The Story of Stuff Project; youth eco-conscious-raising powerhouses from Bahamas Plastic Movement Kristal Ambrose and Will Simmons; Dianna Cohen, CEO of and co-founder of Plastic Pollution Coalition, Jackie Nuñez of The Last Plastic Straw, 5 Gyres Institute, Surfrider Foundation, Bureo; and Algalita’s Captain Charles Moore, who won the Peter Benchley Ocean “Hero of the Seas” Award, and whose best-selling book Plastic Ocean has brought worldwide attention to the phenomenon.

“We believe responsible solutions to plastic pollution are within reach, and we believe youth will accelerate the process,” said Katie Allen, Executive Director of Algalita. “Our team is 100% committed to preparing this new generation to take on the challenges ahead.”

Watch more videos of the Summit here.

Join our global Coalition.

125+ students from across 8 countries and 6 U.S. states will convene in Dana Point, CA, February 22-24, to advance global solutions to plastic pollution at Algalita’s POPS International Youth Summit, a 3-day empowerment experience held at the Ocean Institute. POPS, an acronym for Plastic Ocean Pollution Solutions, has helped support 181 grassroots projects in 21 countries since its inaugural year in 2011.

Coming from all over the U.S., and as far afield as New Zealand and Africa, these committed students already grasp the severity of the ocean plastic crisis. They won places at the Summit based on their innovative ideas on how best to combat plastic pollution in their own communities. The event offers youth – ranging from 11 to 18 years old – a chance to learn about current scientific research and political action on plastic pollution, share their action projects with their peers, and work directly with mentors to help improve their projects’ next steps.

This year’s teams are representing both coastal and inland, rural and urban, communities. From providing food banks with reusable bags to instituting reusable utensils in their school cafeteria, these teams are addressing plastic pollution locally and with culturally and regionally specific solutions.

“We believe responsible solutions to plastic pollution are within reach, and we believe youth will accelerate the process,” said Katie Allen, Executive Director of Algalita. “Our team is 100% committed to preparing this new generation to take on the challenges ahead.”

This year’s team of experts and workshop leaders include: Dr. Wallace “J” Nichols, The New York Times best selling author, scientist, and ocean conservation enthusiast; Stiv Wilson, Director of Campaigns at The Story of Stuff; youth eco-conscious-raising powerhouses Kristal Ambrose and Will Simmons; representatives from Plastic Pollution Coalition, The Last Plastic Straw, 5 Gyres Institute, Surfrider Foundation, Bureo; and of course Algalita’s own Captain Charles Moore, who won the Peter Benchley Ocean “Hero of the Seas” Award, and whose best-selling book Plastic Ocean has brought worldwide attention to the phenomenon.

Due to the generous support of sponsors like the Massen Greene Foundation, musician Jack Johnson and the team at the Johnson Ohana Foundation, the Summit is free to attend for all participants.

Join our global Coalition.

Over 100 students and teachers from around the world gathered for the Algalita 2017 Plastic Ocean Pollution Solutions International Youth Summit Feb. 10-12 in Dana Point, California. The three-day summit activated youth leaders to launch and lead action-oriented solutions to reduce plastic pollution in their own communities.

Students, who won the opportunity to participate in the summit based on their innovative project submissions, received training in leadership, public speaking, community engagement, art, science, and film-making throughout the weekend.

Speakers included Danni Washington, an ocean activist and founder of The Big Blue and You; Dr. Wallace ‘J’ Nichols, a marine biologist and PPC founding advisor; Kristal Ambrose, founder of Bahamas Plastic Movement, Anna Cummins, co-founder of 5 Gyres, and Hannah Testa, a 14-year-old environmentalist and founder of Plastic Pollution Awareness Day in Georgia, USA.

Students’ project ideas covered many areas of plastic pollution from single-use plastic bags to straws, utensils, water bottles, and more. Projects included: student Abeer from India, who advocates for using reusable bags made of jute instead of plastic; high-schoolers from Santa Fe Springs, California, who are working with the school district’s director of food and services on reducing plastic waste at their school; kids from the Bahamas, who demonstrated how to make reusable bags; kids from Los Angeles and Missouri who created art projects with plastic; and students from Cambodia, who are raising awareness in their schools about plastic pollution suffocating freshwater dolphins, of which only about 100 remain.

A group from Lebanon has started awareness programs and recycling efforts at their elementary schools: “Our Earth has the right to live without pollution,” said Nadine in her presentation, and 16-year-old Ruby from Santa Cruz, California, has started an organization called Trashtastic to help kids make art out of discarded plastic and to “inspire kids to be environmentalists.”

Jenna from Huntington Beach, California, came to the summit as a peer advisor, and left with an idea to change the way people think about plastic straws with a campaign called #SteelMyStraw.

In her speech, 14-year-old Hannah Testa, a PPC Youth Ambassador, talked about teaming up with organizations to take action against plastic pollution. “Don’t wait for everything to be perfect,” she said. “Stay motivated! If we all use our collective voice, we will change the world!”

At the conclusion of the summit, attendees came up with a mission statement: “We are activist ocean-earth protector plastic-free warriors working toward a world free of plastic pollution… We are the unstoppable change. We are heirs to the ocean. We are the solution to plastic pollution.”

Watch students talk about their projects in the videos below.