H2O Trash Patrol, Oceanside

H2O Trash Patrol has a singular mission: to keep sand and water free of trash. The nonprofit was borne out of a family exercise in picking up debris from the beach, but the influx of garbage was soon too much to keep up with. So H2O Trash Patrol was formed, and its members float atop the waters in and around San Diego county waterways on standup-paddleboards, lampooning marine debris before sorting them and recycling what they can. H2O Trash Patrol's goals are big. Its 50-50-50 challenge aims to clean 50 waterways in 50 states over the course of 50 days, and its efforts have been recognized by the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation, which gave the organization an Environmental Hero Award in 2011.

To raise funds for its mission, H2O Trash Patrol offers standup-paddleboarding lessons to the uninitiated, teaching pupils how to balance, paddle, and maneuver their boards as they cruise on flat water. Lessons traverse the coast at various locales such as Oceanside Harbor, Carlsbad Lagoon, and San Diego Bay.