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On Saturday, April 15th, Boca Save our Beaches hosted a beach cleanup at South Beach Park in Boca Raton. Beach cleanup supplies were provided by Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful and Gumbo Limbo. With over 100 participants, 372 pounds of trash was removed from our public beach. In celebration of Earth Day, residents of Palm Beach County participate in an annual beach cleanup, removing massive amounts of litter from our coast. The Great American Cleanup, a project of Keep America Beautiful, is coordinated County wide by Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful Inc. and the Solid Waste Authority. On Saturday, April 15th, Boca Save our Beaches hosted a beach cleanup at South Beach Park in Boca Raton. Beach cleanup supplies were provided by Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful and Gumbo Limbo. With over 100 participants, 372 pounds of trash were removed from our public beach. Together, as a community of like-minded citizens, we celebrated the removal of 372 pounds of litter at Beer Trade Co. in Boca Raton . Islamorada Beer Company sponsored this brunch by providing drinks for participants 21 and over.

The future depends on how we act today. By making small shifts in your lifestyle, you can take a powerful stand against plastic pollution. Live Sustainability. REGISTRATION#: CH52020 A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE (800-435-7352) WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. Ocean Plastics: The Ecological Disaster of our Time Did you know that of the 8 billion tons of plastic ever made, every single piece still exists? Really take this in for a second…. Think about every toothbrush, every plastic razor, plastic bag or “disposable” water bottle, every straw, plastic cup…every shampoo bottle you’ve ever used. Every. Single. One. Read More Lollipop Lollipop Here in south Florida, so many plastic lollipop sticks have been washing ashore that recently Loggerhead Marinelife Center’s (LMC) conservation department was prompted to take a closer look at these single use plastic items. What they found was surprising; 452 plastic lollipop sticks on a third of a mile of beach in only 7 days. Read More Nurdle by .... Nature? Nurdles. The name sounds inoffensive, cuddly even…. However, nurdles are anything but. "Nurdle" is the name for pre-production plastic pellets; these are the raw material of the plastic industry – the building blocks for plastic bottles, plastic bags, drinking straws, balloons, to-go containers – in fact almost anything you can think of that's made of plastic. Read More Bottles Bottles Everywhere! How often do you drink bottled water? Once in a blue moon? Once a week? Several times a day? Every single second, Americans go through about 1500 plastic water bottles . Bottled water has become so prevalent in our society, a lot of us don’t give it a second thought. But it was not that long ago that bottled water seemed, well, irrational. I mean… it’s water. Read More Sunny with a chance of Climate Change In an effort to reduce pollution, local residents can volunteer at organizations like Boca Save Our Beaches— a non-profit started by Jessica Gray, member of the Green Living Advisory Board (GLAB)in Boca Raton—which encourages citizens to work together to establish goals to safeguard the coast, while promoting a clean marine environment through beach cleanups and green activities. Read More Hurricane Preparedness in the Age of Climate Change Although hurricanes in Florida are nothing new, scientists know that climate change is already fueling slower, larger, wetter and more dangerous storms as a result of warmer temperatures, and they concur that this trend will continue if we don’t act swiftly on climate change. Read More Be a part of the solution Consumer demand is what drives plastic sales, and plastic production for that matter. By making small shifts in your lifestyle, you can take a powerful stand against plastic pollution. The easiest and most direct way that you can reduce plastic pollution is by limiting your own use of single-use plastics. Read More

Boca Save our Beaches partners with Surfrider Foundation's Blue Water Task Force water monitoring program. Every Monday, a BSOB volunteer heads out to the local waterways to take water samples. The samples are then dropped off to the lab which is stationed at Boca High. The water is carefully tested under scientific methods using special equipment for a bacteria called enterococcus. High levels of this bacteria can cause infections. Water Testing. Boca Save our Beaches partners with Surfrider Foundation's Blue Water Task Force water monitoring program. Every Monday, a BSOB volunteer heads out to the local waterways to take water samples. The samples are then dropped off to the lab which is stationed at Boca High. The water is carefully tested under scientific methods using special equipment for a bacteria called enterococcus. High levels of this bacteria can cause infections. Water testing is made available to fill in the gaps that local authorities are unable to meet when it comes to keeping the public informed of the water quality they are swimming and playing in. For more information on this program click here: Blue Water Task Force

Florida has a trash problem. This is not new. But do you know why it's so hard for local municipalities to help solve the problem? Florida, like the rest of the planet, is in the grips of a waste crisis, and a new report just released by the state’s Department of Environmental Protection outlines just how dire the situation has become. Yet state lawmakers refuse to listen to legislation that attempts to address the issue. Buoyed by this report, some South Florida lawmakers are now hoping to move the needle in the fight to stop plastic pollution. “An overwhelming amount of people within Florida want regulation on single-use plastics to happen, so the time for it to happen is now,” said Amanda Di Perna, a student at Florida International University. The new report from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection sounds alarm bells: 93% of Floridians surveyed, including residents, local leaders and business owners, believe regulation of single-use plastics is needed. “We’re now breathing in the toxins released by burning this plastic because there’s just too much of it and we can’t handle it,” Di Perna said. She and Taina Adam are members of a team of six FIU students from the Campus Green Initiative who spent eight months collecting research used in the FDEP report. “It’s obvious that we’re not able to handle what we’re consuming, and if it continues, the plastics that are quadrupling will last into our environment for years and years,” Adam said. Single-use plastics are items we only use once and then throw away. Plastic bags, takeout containers, utensils, plastic cups — they can’t be recycled and take 450 years to biodegrade. Many wind up in our ocean, killing our marine life and endangering public health. Data shows that in 2020, some 7,000 tons of plastic entered Florida’s marine environment. “That makes me terrified,” Di Perna said. The report is an update to a 2010 FDEP report that strongly recommended Florida start regulating single-use plastics. In 2008, the state actually passed a law preempting local municipalities from banning single-use plastics. “Does it make any sense that the state is blocking local cities? No,” said Illine Davila, president of the Woman’s Club of Coconut Grove. In 2018, the club formed Florida’s Plastics Free Initiative, joining forces with other environmental nonprofits instrumental in getting the state to greenlight this new study. “We need Florida to break through,” Davila said. “We need somebody to just say enough is enough, take the plastics out. We live in a gorgeous state.” But even that is now at risk. According to the report, Florida has gotten so trashy that we’re losing valuable tourist dollars to places like Jamaica and the Bahamas, which have laws banning single-use plastics. “Right now Florida is losing $7 billion annually in our tourism sector because of the plastic pollution out here in our environment,” Adam said. State Rep. Jim Mooney, R-Monroe County, just sponsored House Bill 1145, which if passed would allow only coastal communities with populations of less than 100,000 to pass laws to regulate single-use plastics. It’s only a pilot program that sunsets in two years. “The next logical step is to take these plastics out of the environment,” Mooney said. “That’s the bottom line.” “The idea is to try to get the ball rolling ... and see if there’s been any improvement or how we can improve the reduction of single-use plastics.” A similar bill has been filed in the state senate by Dade Delegation Chair Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez, R-Miami-Dade, but it’s an uphill battle. Rep. Mike Grieco, D-Miami-Dade, has spent the past four years fighting to get his single-use plastic bill just heard. “Every time the bill gets filed it is dead upon filing,” Grieco said. “You know the minute you file it’s not going to go anywhere.” Plastics are a multibillion-dollar industry, and the Florida Retail Federation has spent millions flexing its political muscle, fighting any attempt to ban plastics. “You’ve got folks in control right now that are very business-friendly, don’t really lean on the side of the environment,” Grieco said. Mooney is hoping to change that. “Even with the lobbyist side, there’s still a responsibility,” he said. “If you have a grandchild or a little baby, you need to think about their future.” And the future is watching to see what our lawmakers do. “Something better has to be done, and the cheapest and easiest solution is to stop the flow of plastics at the source,” Di Perna said. “It’s not enough for them to listen to us, they have to take action as well.” Five weeks remain in this legislative session, and so far none of these bills has even gotten a committee hearing. If you want these bills heard, it’s important to contact your representatives and tell them how you feel. By Louis Aguirre - WPLG Local 10 https://www.local10.com/news/local/2022/02/02/plastics-report-has-some-florida-leaders-pushing-for-tougher-laws/ See how you can get involved and urge lawmakers to act

Impact 100 announces semi-finalists for grants January 06, 2022 Impact 100 Palm Beach County (Impact 100 PBC) has announced its 2022 semi-finalist nonprofit organizations. The 21 groups, all with projects based in South Palm Beach County, have the opportunity to submit full applications for one of multiple $100,000 high-impact grants. Impact 100 PBC is a women’s 501(c)3 nonprofit organization funding local nonprofit initiatives. It is comprised of a growing number of over 600 women who donate $1,000 annually, pool all money and vote to award grants to nonprofits serving southern Palm Beach County in five focus areas: Arts, Culture and Historic Preservation; Education; Environment and Animal Welfare; Family; and Health and Wellness. Since its inception, Impact 100 Palm Beach County has awarded more than $4.5 million in grants. “Our mission in Impact 100 PBC is to improve our community by collectively funding impactful $100,000 grants to nonprofits in our area,” Kelly Fleming, president-elect of Impact 100 PBC, said in the statement. “Last year we had 652 members and we are hoping to reach 700 this year. The more members we have, the more money we can give to nonprofits in Palm Beach County. This ‘team philanthropy,’ where our funds are pooled together, makes a bigger impact than individual donations.” This year’s semi-finalists include the following nonprofits in Impact 100 PBC’s focus areas. Arts, Culture & Historic Preservation: Benzaiten Center for Creative Arts: Hands Across the Community Spady Cultural Heritage Museum: Digitizing Black History GBDC Entrepreneurship Institute: Theatrical Fusion Young Singers of The Palm Beaches: South County Sings for Healing Education: Best Foot Forward: Grounded for Life Florence Fuller Child Development Centers: Intensive Individualized Tutoring for 100 Children Propel Inc.: “VIRTUTOR” University of Florida Foundation: SEFS & GEMS Xcel Mentoring Network: Youth Training & Wellness Environment & Animal Welfare Boca Save Our Beaches: Sea Tails with Seymour Marine Education Initiative: Sustainable Agriculture Education Initiative Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League: Project Catsnip Family: American Association of Caregiving Youth: RACY (Rides for A Caregiving Youth) Camelot Community of Care: Kin- Nections (Keeping Kids with Kinship Caregivers) Friends of Foster Children: Kinship, Care & Connections Ruth & Norman Rales Jewish Family Services: TFRC Therapeutic Resource & Family Center Unicorn Children’s Foundation: Family Navigator Program Health & Wellness: Love Serving Autism: Serving with Heart in SPBC Promise Fund of FL: Health Equity for Women in Cancer & Prevention The Lord’s Place: Buckle Campus The Soup Kitchen Inc.: Lift Up Finalists will be announced on March 31 and can present their projects to the members of Impact 100 PBC. Members will vote to award multiple $100,000 grants to nonprofits in five focus areas at the Grand Awards event on April 19. Membership for Impact 100 PBC 2021 is open through March 31. For more information, visit www.impact100pbc.org or call 561-336-4623. By Palm Beach Florida Weekly https://palmbeach.floridaweekly.com/articles/impact-100-announces-semi-finalists-for-grants/

How is this 'smashcastle' hurting sea turtles? Read on to find out. When you first look at this photo, I’m sure you’re thinking to yourself, “What a beautiful sunrise.” But if you look closely, you will see a threat lurking on the sand. The remains of a sandcastle built the day before and half washed down by the ocean is more than troublesome to sea turtles. From the time hatchlings emerge from their nest buried in the sand, they’ve already had the odds stacked against them. A very daunting fact is that only one in 10,000 sea turtle hatchlings born will ever make it to adulthood. Humans have sadly contributed to this fact. With six out of the seven species of sea turtles on the endangered species list, it is up to us to help try to save them from extinction. If sea turtles were to go extinct, it would create a big problem not only for the ocean, but also for the beach dunes as well. One specific species of sea turtles called Leatherbacks enjoys the taste of jellyfish for their main source of food. Could you imagine the amount of jellyfish that would be roaming the oceans if we didn’t have the Leatherbacks gobbling them up? We’d be getting stung left and right! We can also give a big round of applause to all the female sea turtles that come to nest on our beaches. It is because of them and the nutrients their nests provide that our dunes can continue to flourish. This is most important for our coastal communities since dunes can protect us from flooding and storm surges. Let’s get back to that half-washed-away sandcastle in the photo. Most people don’t know that sea turtles have very poor vision on land. When the hatchlings, which are smaller than your palm, start making their trek to the ocean, they are faced with numerous natural obstacles, including drift wood and sargassum brought in by high tide. Start adding sandcastles, holes dug by beachgoers, and personal belongings to the mix, and you can see why these little guys/gals have such a low rate of survival. If the hatchlings bump into sandcastles or personal belongings, they can get disoriented and end up in the dunes or even a tasty meal for a land predator. Picture a hatchling who just came out of an egg the size of a ping pong ball trying to make it to the ocean, only to fall into one of those holes people dig as a place to sit. There is absolutely no way that little guy/gal can crawl on out on its own. The “roadblocks” can also affect the females coming to nest. If an obstacle is large enough and she can’t find her way past them, she may end up heading back into the ocean, only to release her eggs there where they will never incubate. This brings us to how it all began for me - HOLES. I started seeing stories on the news and numerous social media sites about these 300-lb. sea turtles getting stranded in these massive holes dug by beachgoers. This can not only cause stress and injury to them, but also kill them if they are not found. After doing much research in my local community and finding out there was not a group, business or non-profit, in the area that patrols the beach for these hazards, I decided to create one myself. I pitched the idea to my local non-profit where I volunteer, and that is how Boca Save our Beaches Hole Patrol began. I now run a “Hole Patrol” with volunteers where we fill in the holes, flatten the sandcastles, clear debris to make paths from the nests to the ocean, and educate beachgoers why we do what we do! I know this article is coming during the close of sea turtle nesting season, but it will begin again in just a few short months. So share this with your friends, snowbirds and family alike so we can not only respect the locals, but also help save a species that does more than we ever knew. If there is not a similar group near you, just remember that YOU can make a difference. It only takes a thought and a willingness to make it happen. By Mystica Green https://olliconnects.org/sunrise-threat-lurking/