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Hundreds Of Hollywood Beachgoers Clean Up Trash In Honor Of Earth Day

More than 300 people were estimated to have come clean up Hollywood Beach Saturday morning, as part of the Free Our Seas and Beyond Environmental Art Festival.
Caitie Switalski
/
WLRN
More than 300 people were estimated to have come clean up Hollywood Beach Saturday morning, as part of the Free Our Seas and Beyond Environmental Art Festival.

More than 300 beachgoers in Hollywood spent their Saturday morning cleaning up trash from the sand as a part of the second annual Free Our Seas And Beyond Environmental Art Festival. 

Hosted by Nova Southeastern University and the nonprofit Free Our Seas, the festival hoped to get people out to celebrate Earth Day a few days early and learn more about threats to marine ecosystems in South Florida. 

 Listen to the audio version of this story.

"A lot of plastic bottles, a lot of plastic bags - bicycles are a big portion of [the trash] this morning," Vince Bolocofsky said. He's cleaning up with the Broward County chapter of the Surfrider Foundation

This is not his first beach clean up but he admits he's never seen five bikes pulled out of dunes in one morning before. 

"What you're not seeing just looking at it, is all the microplastic and stuff that people are picking up: those little pieces of plastic that have been broken up and broken down and wash up on the beaches every day," Bolocofsky said. 

Next door to the clean-up,  50 local environmental artists showed off their work - which included a grouper made out of flip flops and plastic straws all found on Hollywood Beach. 

"We saw the possibilities for people who might not be environmentally minded….through the art, it peaked their curiosity," Elaine Fiore, a co-founder of Free Our Seas, which uses art centered around the environment to educate people about marine pollution. 

 

This 'Flip-Flop Grouper' was just one of several art projects at the festival made with trash found on beaches. This one was posted right in front of the Marine Environmental Education Center house, or MEEC.
Credit Caitie Switalski / WLRN
/
WLRN
This 'Flip-Flop Grouper' was just one of several art projects at the festival made with trash found on beaches. This one was posted right in front of the Marine Environmental Education Center house, or MEEC.

Read More: Environmentalists Call On Governor To Ban All Types Of Fracking, Not Just Some

The festival lined the pedestrain broadwalk in front of the Marine Environmental Education Center at the Carpenter House, which is a partnership between Broward County Parks, and NSU researchers. The center opened about two years ago and planned the art festival around Earth Day with Free Our Seas to gain more traction.

"Earth Day is great, but Earth Day should be every day,"  Derek Burkholder, the center's director, said. "Marine debris and pollution in our environment is a huge issue all year round." 

Nearly 30 of the booths at the festival were set up for organizations that focus on marine conservation. 

Last year's event gathered close to 2,000 people, so they expanded this year. After the beach clean-up people enjoyed live art and music too. 

In addition to the featival's activities, participants could also visit with Captain, the center's Green Sea turtle in-residence. Injured by a boat ten years ago, she floats too much and needs a weight glued on her shell to be able to dive. She now lives in a swimming pool at the center.

Captain can be visited year-round, , not just for Earth Day. 

"We're very fortunate to have her here as an ambassador for us to help teach people about -  not only about sea turtles - but also the marine environment," Burkholder said. 

 

Captain, a Green Sea Turtle, was adored by festival goers and was fed extra snacks on Saturday. She lives full time at the MEEC in Hollywood, and has a weight glued under her shell to help her buoyancy issues.
Credit Caitie Switalski / WLRN
/
WLRN
Captain, a Green Sea Turtle, was adored by festival goers and was fed extra snacks on Saturday. She lives full time at the MEEC in Hollywood, and has a weight glued under her shell to help her buoyancy issues.

Copyright 2019 WLRN 91.3 FM

Caitie Switalski is a rising senior at the University of Florida. She's worked for WFSU-FM in Tallahassee as an intern and reporter. When she's in Gainesville for school, Caitie is an anchor and producer for local Morning Edition content at WUFT-FM, as well as a digital editor for the station's website. Her favorite stories are politically driven, about how politicians, laws and policies effect local communities. Once she graduates with a dual degree in Journalism and English,Caitiehopes to make a career continuing to report and produce for NPR stations in the sunshine state. When she's not following what's happening with changing laws, you can catchCaitielounging in local coffee shops, at the beach, or watching Love Actually for the hundredth time.