We are now a “Leave No Trace” Community Partner

We cannot clean our way out of this marine debris mess, and instead we must turn off the tap of single-us plastics entering our waterways. We want everyone to explore and fall in love with nature, because nature is immensely healing to the human spirit, and we believe that people will protect what they love.

VolunteerCleanup.Org is excited to join on as a Leave No Trace Community Partner and bring their 7 Principles for responsibly enjoying nature to Miami. Leave No Trace is a 501c3 non-profit organization providing education, training and outreach in all 50 states and more than 100 countries around the globe. Utilizing the power of science, education for all, and stewardship to support and protect nature, Leave No Trace is on a mission to ensure a sustainable future for the outdoors and the planet.

You can learn more and take their Leave No Trace 101 training which will help you understand and share the actions we can collectively take to protect our planet. In this course they share helpful information with a simple framework of minimum impact practices to apply when spending time outdoors. Learn more at https://www.LNT.org.

What better time than the week of Give Miami Day to do a little bragging about our recent successes in 3 items below. And if you like what we are doing, join a cleanup at www.VolunteerCleanup.Org, or you can give us a virtual high-five by making a donation anytime before tomorrow (Thursday Nov 16) at 11:59p for Give Miami Day (there is a DOUBLE match opportunity – both from Miami Foundation and a very generous match from one of our donors – so effectively $25 turns into $75). And while you are there, take a look around and discover some of the many amazing non-profits worth your time and/or financial support.

1) International Coastal Cleanup Day Miami-Dade in September was a raging success where 2,997 volunteers came out and removed 22,223 pounds of trash and debris from 58 locations all across Miami-Dade County. Some highlights:

• One of our sponsors (The Brady Hunter Foundation) donated funds to pay for and give away 2,000 Biscayne Bay Specialty License Plates (you can still get a FREE plate for your car here),
• Mayor Daniella Levine Cava released a recovered Pelican she appropriately named Brady (thanks for all you do Pelican Harbor Seabird Station)
• Our 2023 ICC Post-Event Survey results continue to demonstrate that cleanups have a powerful impact on awareness, education, and behavior – and that our work really matters
• You can still order your 2023 ICC Leafy Sea Dragon Shirt

GET YOUR FREE LICENSE PLATE

2) News Flash – We are LEGENDARY !! – and it’s not just us saying it. In the past 2 months:

• The Miami Dolphins awarded us with a Local Legends Award in front of 60,000 screaming fans (Dara had to resist the urge to do a running cartwheel onto the field)
• Florida Department of Environmental Protection awarded us with their 2023 Environmental Stewardship award for our actions on Marine Debris and advocacy for new state-wide stormwater rules
• The Miami Herald wrote a great 2 page feature story on our decade of work: “How cleanups along Miami’s waterways have led to a team effort, environmental changes“. They included 3 of our favorite photos.
• Louis Aguirre with Local 10 News did a deep dive segment on our Corporate Days Of Service (And Successes), and highlighted one of our ‘Corporate Day of Service’ customers who eliminated 23 TONS of plastic from their operations (!!!!) after doing a cleanup with us, demonstrating the extent to which participating in a cleanup can lead to impactful changes in business practices and the important role that business play in solving the marine debris crisis

3) We’re Hiring.!. We recently received a very generous 2-year ‘Capacity Building’ grant from the Miami Foundation. We will be using this to fund expansion in our current South Florida market, with greater plans to expand our programs state-wide. We are looking for an enthusiastic Part-Time or Full-Time staff member with leadership qualities looking to make a positive impact in the world and grow with our organization. If you are interested, or know anyone, find more details and apply here.

APPLY FOR A JOB WITH US

Thanks,

Dara and Dave – VolunteerCleanup.Org

 

Do cleanups really make a difference? Survey Results

As we continue to say, we cannot clean our way out of this ocean plastic mess, but cleanups can provide an eye-opening experience that will put people on a path to being part of the solution. But do they really?

For the third year, we asked our International Coastal Cleanup Day volunteers, and the data again shows that cleanups have a powerful impact on awareness, education, and behavior.

Some highlights:

• For 49% of survey respondents, the 2023 ICC was their first cleanup
• 70% had an increase in knowledge about marine debris from attending the cleanup
• 72% committed to using fewer single-use plastics
• 98% want to do more to protect the environment
• 81% committed to attending another cleanup.
• One of our favorite quotes is: “I didn’t realize just how much waste ends up on the shore and in the water. Volunteering showed me the magnitude of this issue.”

RESULTS ARE IN for the annual county-wide International Coastal Cleanup Miami-Dade last Saturday, September 16th, 2023 where 2,929 volunteers collected 22,233 pounds of trash from 58 cleanups around the County.

While we organize Miami-Dade’s involvement in this annual global event, it is the network of organizations who lead the individual cleanups in the program and our partners and sponsors that really help to make this event an incredible success. Thank you all for being a part of it and thank you to the volunteers who came out to make a difference.

OUR SPONSORS – We would like to especially thank our sponsors who support this program with funding and sweat equity (they all came out to clean!). This event was presented by Covanta and Boucher Brothers, with additional support from Blackstone Charitable Foundation, The Brady Hunter Foundation, Benjamin & Gloria Joannou, Jr. Family Conservation Fund, City of Miami Beach, The Miami Foundation, Loud And Live, and Miami-Dade County RER-DERM.

WERE YOU ON TV? Site captains from all over the County submitted video and interviews for Louis Aguirre  ‘Don’t Trash Our Treasure’ segment on WPLG Local 10 News (Channel 10). Here is the link in case you missed it. https://www.local10.com/news/local/2023/09/20/volunteers-step-up-across-south-florida-on-international-coastal-cleanup-day/.

And make sure to watch his weekly segment every Wednesday’s Local 10 News from 5-6pm where he focuses on local environmental issues.

GET YOUR FREE SPECIALTY LICENSE PLATE – The Brady Hunter Foundation generously purchased vouchers for 2,000 Biscayne Bay specialty license plates dedicated to restoring our blue gem and is giving them away to our volunteers. Let’s get these beauties onto your cars and boat trailers!  It is first come, first serve, so please don’t be shy. Get your FREE Biscayne Bay Specialty License plate for your car here: https://miamifoundation.org/biscaynebay/ (car not included!)

BRADY THE PELICAN – We were really excited to bring Pelican Harbor Seabird Station into this years ICC, and The Brady Hunter Foundation generously offered $.50 per pound of trash collected from the 58 locations. Because of YOUR hard work, the foundation will donate $11,116 to support the seabird hospital, and our County Mayor (and Water Warrior) Daniella Levine Cava suggested to name this rehabilitated Pelican ‘Brady’ before releasing it back into the wild. Brady spent 6 weeks being treated for injuries and a nasty infection due to fishing line entanglement.

ORDER YOUR 2023 ICC SHIRT – You still have time to get this years shirt with the Leafy Sea Dragon. Fun fact – As with its seahorse kin, a male leafy sea dragon carries its mate’s eggs until the eggs hatch. https://www.bonfire.com/2022-miami-icc-2/

On a personal note – many of you are aware that the kayak I use to cleanup trash from the bay was stolen, and there was a tremendous outpouring of support from so many people wanting to help me find a new one. I was fully planning on purchasing another newer better one myself, but 3 very dear friends who so believed in what I am doing sent unsolicited contributions which covered the cost of my new kayak and an electric motor to help me continue and improve my efforts. I am so incredibly humbled by their generosity, belief in me, and kind words about how much my work inspires them. This past weekends cleanup is dedicated to these very dear friends who probably don’t want to be publically named. If anyone else wants to help, they can grab a few friends and I will help organize / host a trash cleanup – which is ultimately what this is all about anyway. I am debating a name for my new kayak now. I have come up with ‘Change Maker’, ‘Trash-Yak’, or ‘Guardian of the Bay’. ‘White Trash’ and ‘Ecoyak’ were also possibilities.  Standby for the final decision.