Two of The Island School’s most recent alumni, Jack Johnston and Alex Weber (Spring 2017), began this project long before they set foot on our campus. In May 2016, the high school students discovered that on the coastline adjacent to a golf course in their hometown of Carmel Beach, California, lay hundreds of golf balls. Further investigation found thousands more rolling beneath the waves of the Pacific, contributed by multiple golf courses along the same stretch of coast.
Before long, these two young leaders were embarking on regular dives to clean up as many golf balls as they could manage. One year later, well over 20,000 balls have been retrieved from the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Jack and Alex have, in that year, been in contact with the Pebble Beach Co., the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Their story has gone national and is inspiring other coastal dwellers as well as outdoor enthusiasts and high school administrators. They recently won the Shane McConkey Eco Challenge, which is run by the Shane McConkey Foundation and which inspires and encourages youths to get creative while taking care of their environment. To learn more about what they have been up to, visit GOLF.com’s article and video here, or visit their Facebook page.