The greeting “wassup” has taken on a new meaning for a group of Edmonds-Woodway High School students concerned about the growing levels of pollution and ecosystem damage caused by our society’s increasing dependence on single-use plastics (SUP).

Inspired by oceanographer, teacher, mentor, underwater photographer, filmmaker, and Director of Edmonds’ Sunset Bay Beach Camp, “Ocean Annie” Crawley, the four students came together earlier this month to form a Save Our Shorlines (SOS) group at Edmonds-Woodway. Save Our Shorelines, a 503c(3) non-profit dedicated to preservation and enhancement of Puget Sound beaches and marine life, works with youth to raise awareness about the importance of a healthy ocean.

At their first meeting, the EWHS students were unanimous in identifying SUP as the focus of their efforts, and decided to ask Crawley to be their adviser.

“Single-use plastics are a huge threat to our ocean ecosystems,” Crawley says. “Items like plastic bags, plastic water bottles, plastic eating utensils, and the ubiquitous plastic straws from espresso bars never ‘go away.’ Right now more than 5 trillion tons of plastic are floating in the ocean and millions more enter the sea every year. The effect on marine life is absolutely devastating.”

She goes on to explain how birds, whales, fish and other ocean life now feed on increasing amounts of plastic instead of their natural diet.

“It’s like eating poison. Whales have washed up on our shores around the world, killed by the consumption of plastic instead of food,” she says. “One in 10 fish has plastic in its system. And it’s getting worse every year.”

The students have clearly caught Crawley’s passion and energy about this issue, and have already targeted their goals, all aimed at reducing single-use plastics in their school, homes and community.

“We want to start by working to eliminate the sale of single-use water bottles in school vending machines,” say Casey Winslow, unofficial spokesperson for the group. “We are fortunate to have some of the highest-quality tap water anywhere, and it just doesn’t make sense to buy it in single-use bottles that are choking our environment.”

The idea is becoming viral via the hashtag #RefuseSUP, and word is spreading fast. The EWHS students have already been contacted by fellow students at Meadowdale who are interested in forming their own SOS group.

— Story and photos by Larry Vogel