Events & Online Seminars

A free biweekly online seminar series, plus hands-on beach and park cleanups across California

Online Seminar Series

Free 40-minute sessions on Zoom, open to anyone. Each one is built on work EcoQuest has actually done — our apps, our cleanups, and our monthly challenges.

🗓️ Every other Saturday, 11:00–11:40 AM Pacific

Session 1 of 5Free

Reading Real Wildfire Data

Saturday, September 12, 202611:00–11:40 AM PTOnline via Zoom

Wildfire data is public, but almost nobody knows how to read it. We walk through where live fire and air-quality data actually comes from, what a containment percentage does and does not tell you, and how to check conditions near your own home. Includes a live walkthrough of the Wildfire Watch app EcoQuest students built.

Who it's for
Middle and high school students, families, and educators
Built on
Wildfire Watch, our student-built fire tracking app
Register on EventbritePreview Slides

Hosted by EcoQuest Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit

Session 2 of 5Free

What a Beach Cleanup Actually Tells Us

Saturday, September 26, 202611:00–11:40 AM PTOnline via Zoom

A cleanup is not just picking up trash — it is a data collection exercise. Using what we have found at our own Seal Beach cleanups, we cover how volunteers log debris, why the categories matter, how that data reaches researchers and policymakers, and how to run a cleanup that actually produces useful numbers.

Who it's for
Students, Scout troops, and community volunteers
Built on
Our Seal Beach and Save Our Beach cleanups
Register on EventbritePreview Slides

Hosted by EcoQuest Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit

Session 3 of 5Free

Your Home's Water and Energy Footprint

Saturday, October 10, 202611:00–11:40 AM PTOnline via Zoom

Most household conservation advice is guesswork. This session shows you how to read your own utility bills, find the three or four things in a typical home that dominate water and energy use, and measure whether a change actually did anything. Attendees leave with a worksheet and a two-week tracking challenge.

Who it's for
Families, middle school students, and anyone curious about their bills
Built on
Our EcoChallenge monthly missions
Register on EventbritePreview Slides

Hosted by EcoQuest Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit

Session 4 of 5Free

Climate Anxiety and How We Built MindMirror

Saturday, October 24, 202611:00–11:40 AM PTOnline via Zoom

Worry about the climate is common, and for a lot of students it is the part of environmental science nobody talks about. We look at what climate anxiety actually is, what researchers have measured — including a 2021 Lancet Planetary Health survey of 10,000 people aged 16 to 25 across ten countries — and what EcoQuest students learned building MindMirror, a student research pilot that screens for depression risk from a short voice recording. We will be specific about what MindMirror does and does not do: it is a screening pilot rather than a diagnosis, and the climate anxiety module we designed for it has not been built. This session is about reading research carefully and being honest about what you have actually shipped. It is not medical advice.

Who it's for
Middle and high school students, families, and educators
Built on
Published climate anxiety research, and MindMirror — our student-built mental health screening pilot
Register on EventbritePreview Slides

Hosted by EcoQuest Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit

Session 5 of 5Free

Conservation in Your Own Neighborhood

Saturday, November 7, 202611:00–11:40 AM PTOnline via Zoom

How to find the environmental work already happening near you and plug into it — city parks and rec programs, watershed groups, library seed libraries, and volunteer platforms. We also cover how to organize your own small cleanup, from permits to supplies to logging service hours properly.

Who it's for
Students seeking service hours, parents, and community organizers
Built on
Three years of running our own community cleanups
Register on EventbritePreview Slides

Hosted by EcoQuest Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit

Sessions are recorded and posted here afterward, so you can catch up if you miss one. Registration is free and there is no minimum age.

Join Our Next Cleanup

Alongside the online series, we host beach and park cleanups throughout the year, open to students, families, Scout troops, and community volunteers. Reach out and we'll let you know when and where the next one is happening.

Get Involved →Volunteer Roles

Featured Cleanups

A closer look at some of our recent conservation events

Seal Beach Cleanup — Seal Beach, CA, March 2025
March 2025•Seal Beach, CA

Seal Beach Cleanup

Volunteers combed the shoreline and jetty at Seal Beach, filling reusable totes with plastic and debris.

Prado Park Restoration & Beautification — Chino, CA, September 2024
September 2024•Chino, CA

Prado Park Restoration & Beautification

Volunteers cleaned pathways, cleared debris, and repainted park markers to help restore Prado Park.

Heritage Park Cleanup — Cerritos, CA, 2026
2026•Cerritos, CA

Heritage Park Cleanup

Student volunteers gathered to clean up green spaces and keep our local parks welcoming for the whole community.

Photo Gallery

Moments from our community conservation events and environmental education programs

Student volunteer collecting litter along the shoreline with reusable totes

Seal Beach Cleanup (2025) - Collecting litter along the shoreline with reusable Save Our Beach totes

Photo 1 of 16

Cleanup History

Our community conservation events, year by year

2026

Seal Beach Cleanup

Seal Beach, CA

Artesia Park Cleanup

Artesia, CA

Heritage Park Cleanup

Cerritos, CA

2025

Seal Beach Cleanup

Seal Beach, CA

Cerritos Regional Park Cleanup

Cerritos, CA

Co-hosted with a local Scout troop

Artesia Park Cleanup

Artesia, CA

2024

Save Our Beach Cleanup

December 2024 · Seal Beach, CA

Prado Park Restoration & Beautification

September 2024 · Chino, CA

Campus Cleanup

February 2024 · Cerritos, CA

Co-hosted with a local Scout troop

Several of our cleanups are run jointly with local Scout troops, schools, and community partners. Where that is the case we have noted it — the service hours belong to everyone who showed up.

Photos are available for select events; more coming as we document each cleanup.