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Four juniors at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley have received state recognition for their environmental cleanup efforts.

Justin Merlin, David De Zafra, Gideon Palestrant and Vaughn Neumann founded the Tam Air Club. As part of their work with the club, the teens built a small fixed-wing drone aircraft to survey Marin for pollution and identify hazardous materials.

For that and other club efforts, Tamalpais High School received recognition by the state as a designated “Clean California” community. It was one of five new honorees announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office on May 28. The others are Eureka, Livermore, Sacramento and the Little Tokyo Historic District of Los Angeles.

The selections bring the total number of Clean California communities to 100 since the program began in 2021. Most are cities or towns, and only a few are schools.

In order to achieve the designation, applicants must complete 10 of the 15 activities on a checklist provided by Clean California. The list includes efforts such as organizing cleanups, youth education, community surveys, providing receptacles for cigarette butts and planting trees or gardens. The Tam Air Club completed 10 items on the checklist, according to its website.

The club’s mission “is to conserve nature for a better future by using 3D-printed camera-equipped drone technology to monitor and protect Marin’s natural landscapes from the impacts of wildfires and pollution,” the website says.

“Our team combines passion for technology with environmental stewardship to create innovative solutions for conservation challenges,” it says.

The club says it had its first successful drone flight on May 31, 2025. After that, it conducted drone surveys to identify pollution along the Marin coastline, and organized volunteers to do beach cleanups.

Courtney Goode, superintendent of the Tamalpais Union High School District, said he was impressed with the club’s work.

“Our kids did not simply conduct a litter assessment and organize cleanup activities,” Goode said, referring to two required components of the Clean California initiative. “They wrote code for the aircraft to identify the most hazardous materials — tires, batteries, chemicals and plastics — so they could quickly remove those items to prevent further environmental harm.”

“Justin, David, Vaughn, and Gideon have developed technology that will not just help beautify our community, but ultimately the world,” Goode said. “I could not be more proud of their work and how they represent their school and our district.”