Many students walk by the wetlands ecosystem at Ocean View High School without a thought.
A new informational sign might change that.
The placard, which documents many of the animals and plants in the area known as “The Swamp,” was designed by 2025 Ocean View graduate Aubrie Sokoloff for her Girl Scouts Gold Award project and unveiled Sept. 12.
Sokoloff, who is headed to UC Santa Cruz, visited the area on weekends and, using binoculars and taking photos, documented what she saw.
“I’m very passionate about this subject,” said Sokoloff, 18. “This was a great opportunity, because this was on my school campus. It’s beautiful and people need to be aware of it. People need to start caring and need to start taking action. It’s the lack of action that’s really bringing us down.”
She bankrolled the project herself, starting a GoFundMe to raise hundreds of dollars. The informational sign takes inspiration from similar panels found along the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve.
Many of the birds and wildlife depicted on the board, such as the red-winged blackbird and great blue heron, have been observed on campus. There is also a section explaining why the wetlands are important.
Right now the wetlands space is dry, but it will likely be a different story in the winter.
“The Swamp” helps prevent flooding on campus, said Ocean View Principal Robert Rasmussen, who worked with Sokoloff as her project took wings. It has a drainage pit in the middle and is managed by the city of Huntington Beach.
“During the rainier season, by December and January, this is completely filled with water,” Rasmussen said. “There’s an abundance of life. In the spring, you get a lot of migratory birds coming here and nesting. It’s just a vibrant space of both flora and fauna. When Aubrie came to me around this time last year, she pitched the idea to me and I said, ‘That’s great, what do you have in mind?’”
It was easy for Rasmussen to develop an interest, as he is a former Boy Scout and his daughters are in the Girl Scouts. He said he was proud of Sokoloff for doing the project all on her own.
Sokoloff designed the sign in Canva — an online graphics tool — and worked with a company in Texas, iZone Imaging, to produce the informational board.
Ocean View plans to use the informational board as part of its science curriculum, she said.
Environmental issues have always interested Sokoloff’s family. Her father, Jack, worked with his former professor at Rio Hondo College, the late Ray Willams, an early advocate of the Upper Newport Bay ecological preserve.
The idea of the informational board, and the work behind it, were all hers, though.
“I’m just so glad it’s here,” she said. “This grants students an opportunity for learning and acknowledgment. Not just students, but staff, teachers, those involved with sports and just the general community.”