On May 29th six of our High Schools attended the 5th Annual STEAM Leadership event on the USS Midway. The theme for this years event was Clean Ocean / Clean Water / Clean Jobs. The event is a collaboration with SDUSD, Intellectual Capital, the Kids Eco Club, The Maritime Alliance, and the USS Midway. The event would not be possible without sponsorship from the San Diego Foundation, Moxie Foundation, Samuel Lawrence Foundation, and the Farrell Family Foundation. Students from Lincoln, Madison, Mira Mesa, Mission Bay, Morse, and San Diego High School attended. The goal of the event was to bridge high tech science and business with the High School system to empower students to live their dreams and find great career and jobs in a smart city like San Diego.
The Executive Director of I LOVE A CLEAN SAN DIEGO, Admiral Len Hering (US Navy, Ret.) gave a keynote that spoke to a vision of clean oceans and clean land to promote San Diego as a region of zero waste with sustainable energy.
Students were able to learn about the growing Blue Economy and the variety of job opportunities. The event exposed hundreds of students to the industry and the development of new technologies including Surfboards made of Algae from Earthwise and flip flops made from Algae oils from Algenesis Materials.
Ocean technology companies included Algenesis, which makes biodegradable flip-flops to replace the 3 billion non-degradable pairs sold each year; Hydronalix, the maker of the robotic lifeguard EMILY, BlueNalu, which designs and grows tuna and mahi-mahi fillets from fish cells in a lab, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Rudnick Lab featuring ARGO & SPRAY; Aquacycl, which converts wastewater into electricity, Earthwise Sorbents, ClearBlueSea, and more.
Students were very excited to learn about San Diego’s efforts to promote clean fresh and saltwater systems in our region!
