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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — You may not immediately connect the Missouri River with Marine Biology, but after a day on the river approximately 20 students will be able to tell you – what we do locally can affect marine wildlife an ocean away.

Students collected trash along the Missouri River on Tuesday. If not intercepted, the trash would most likely make its way down river and possibly out to the ocean. The cleanup and learning day comes in connection with the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Healthy Rivers Partnership.

Instructor Leslie Mallinson told FOX 4’s Matt Stewart she found a plastic Twinkie crate from Kansas City while cleaning a remote tropical island beach in Australia.

See more of their interviews below.

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