San Pablo Elementary is located eight blocks from the ocean and tucked away between Fletcher High School and Fletcher Middle School. Most people that aren’t from the beach don’t even know it exists, but this past week it was hard to forget about this hidden gem. During the week of December 6-10, San Pablo Elementary partnered with Beaches Sea Turtle Patrol and the Fletcher Marine Coastal Club to educate the entire student body composed of 500 students from K-5 on sea turtle conservation and beach dune ecology. Students also collected trash (plastics and cigarette butts) and ended up planting 1,200 sea oats! The Science Integration Team comprised of San Pablo teachers planned the four stations, organized volunteers (Coach Brown and Susan Beihler), and got JBPD to escort each group across 3rd Street. “This community is incredibly unique. San Pablo teachers love to get our elementary students involved with the Fletcher Coastal Club. We’re thankful for these experiences for our students and hopeful this educational week teaches our kids about our beach environment.” Students learned the importance of the dune system and how vegetation helps build the dunes, how BSTP monitors sea turtles, their life cycles, and the importance of keeping our beaches clean, dark, and flat. The goal was to give the students an overall view of all the key parts to our beach ecosystem from marine animals to how humans use and maintain the pristine environment. San Pablo Elementary has been an "A" school since the beginning of school grades. It's experiences like this that continue to provide San Pablo students with great pride for our community.