Hello:)

My name is Laura Rodriguez, I am a full time student at CSULA, and I happen to be Prof. Hicks' student. Almost a week ago on Saturday (4/16/11), I attended the 'Heal the Bay' project. The event was held at Dockweiler State Beach, and I must say that I enjoyed it. The purpose of this even was to gather a group of people and clean the beach. This was done to make a difference, and save some lives. Trash being left on the beach, believe it or not, harms our sea creatures and our birds directly, and eventually moves up the food chain. These poor animals consume most of the trash being left on the beach, because it eventually gets into the ocean. This is a major hazard.

I arrived at the beach with my two best friends. We were greeted, and were immediately instructed what we would be doing. At the beach, I noticed that there was a lot of trash scattered around, and most of it was plastic. Plastic is a substance that is really hard to get rid of especially once it is composed. It creates major problems for our environment.

I have been a student in Prof. Hicks' classes since the fall, and all through out these classes our topics have always been related to the environment. No matter what we are talking about, everything has to do with the environment. The environment can be categorized everywhere, from open land to busy cities. The environment is all around us, thus, we affect it the most. The beach is only a portion of how we affect it.

I have learned that not everyone thinks the same, in the sense that everyone has their own opinions. In addition, this is our home, so it is up to us to help it. We have to create the difference, and this event is a perfect example as to how we can help.