A dancing fish was in the quad on Thursday, April 19 at an information stand to educate students about diminishing estuaries for Earth Day.  The environmental science department and De Anza associated student body stand to create awareness about human impacts on the local bay and ocean and at a global scale.

Cristian Aviles, 20, material engineering major, says “excessive fishing, such as commercial fishing, hurts the ecosystem.” Furthermore, people must not trash our oceans and river banks with littering and toxic waste. “We need to find a way to keep the estuaries in a very sanctioned state,” said Aviles. “It is where a lot of our fish develop, for most of their life and they cannot reproduce comfortably without a estuary.”

Janet John, 21, administration of justice major, stood to get people aware and more involved on Earth day. “Instead of using plastic bags at a grocery store, bring your own, reusable bags, or pay the 10 cents for paper. We can also pick up people’s litter, and throw it away, or recycle, if it is recyclable.” Janet wanted to build awareness on where estuaries are located, and where not to build future projects.

Although there are laws in place to protect against habitat loss, estuaries are at a peek of endangerment. De Anza students are educating peers on diminishing habitats to foster a greener community.