Tremont Montessori School students were on a mission when they went to Edgewater Beach the day before this past Earth Day, in search of trash. And they found it. Lots of it.  

“We found a grill,” said Stephanie, a Tremont Montessori eighth grader. “I don’t know how a grill ended up on the beach.”  

During the hour-long clean-up, students found a towel, shoes, empty bottles and more.  

This event is a part of the Tremont Cares Campaign.  

“We wanted to do something that improves our community, our school community and Cleveland,” said Tina Kovach, a Tremont Montessori teacher.  

Before the cleanup, The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District and local non-profit Drink Local, Drink Tap educated students from third through eighth grade on the importance of keeping the environment and water clean.  

They also learned about microplastics, extremely small pieces of plastic debris that harm the environment.  

“The fish eat the plastic thinking it is food,” said Rhionnan, an eighth grader at Tremont.  “Causing the fish to die; Or just as bad, we consume the fish and the plastics,” she added.  

Students picked up a lot of trash in a small period of time. They left the beach feeling proud that they were helping to keep their community clean.  

“We know there is a lot of trash on the beach, and we made a difference,” said Kebeh, a sixth grader at Tremont Montessori School.