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Boca Save our Beaches partnered with SeaWatch on the Ocean and Stoked on Salt for a shoreline beach cleanup on July 16, 2017 to help preserve and protect our living coral reef ecosystems. Boca Save our Beaches partnered with SeaWatch on the Ocean and Stoked on Salt for a shoreline beach cleanup on July 16, 2017 to help preserve and protect our living coral reef ecosystems. Over 20 ocean conservation groups joined forces to educate the public on corals, manatees, lionfish, ocean debris, sharks, sea turtles, manta rays, whales dolphins, lobsters and much more! Ocean Conservation Day 2017 was a huge success, removing over 230 pounds of trash from the ocean! Photos provided by Ola'pi Creative .

408 pounds of trash was removed from South Beach Park in Boca Raton on Saturday, September 23rd during International Coastal Cleanup Day. Boca Save our Beaches partnered with 4Ocean and World of Scuba, pulling together over 85 people to help clean our beaches. Plus, we were able to beat our prior record of 377 pounds o 408 pounds of trash were removed from South Beach Park in Boca Raton on Saturday, September 23rd during International Coastal Cleanup Day. Boca Save our Beaches partnered with 4Ocean and World of Scuba , gathering over 85 people to help clean our beaches. Plus, we were able to beat our prior record of 377 pounds of trash collected. Beach cleanup supplies were generously donated by Unger USA , Ultimate Survival Technologies , Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful and the City of Boca Raton, Gumbo Limbo . Boca Save our Beaches was happy to welcome the team of Girl Scout Troop 24512, lending a hand to nature. In addition, members of our City Council: Andrea Levine O’Rourke, Jeremy Rodgers and Scott Singer spent the morning combing through the sand collecting litter. Once trash was brought back to the registration site, trash was combined into large bags for 4Ocean. 4Ocean uses the trash from beach cleanups to make bracelets. For every bracelet made, 4Ocean saves our ocean from one pound of trash! 4Ocean charitably donated a bracelet for every cleanup participant on Saturday. Thank you to our donors, participants and partners for taking part in the International Coastal Cleanup Day. Remember to leave it better than you found it! Photo Credits: Emily Creighton at Two Seventy Magazine

Developed coasts change natural beach processes and impact marine wildlife. In order to protect our beaches we must control coastal development. Coastal Development. To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key. Protecting our beaches and ocean means that we need to control coastal development, which covers a wide range of projects including beachfront construction of homes, hotels, restaurants, and roads; beach renourishment projects; seawall construction; and nearshore dredging and oil platform construction. Unfortunately, developed coasts change natural beach processes and impact marine wildlife. Even just one building can change the natural movement of wind, which can disrupt sand transport and rainwater runoff - negatively impacting plants and animals. Development also leads to more people in and around the ocean. Recreational activities have a huge impact on the marine ecosystem. For example, careless boating, diving, snorkeling, and fishing damage coral reefs and can put marine wildlife at risk. Coastal development can harm wildlife, damage habitats, and lead to more flooding: Wildlife. Marine animals such as whale sharks, seals, dugongs, dolphins, whales, and birds are disturbed by boats and people getting too close. Sea turtles are especially impacted by coastal development, forcing nesting females to travel to other beaches to lay eggs. Obstacles on the beach, such as beach chairs, make it more difficult if not impossible for female sea turtles to lay eggs and hatchlings to get to the ocean as needed. The sea turtles’ habitat is also affected by the pollution resulting from runoff and wastewater discharge. Seawall construction can also create barriers to nesting turtles and cause unnatural erosion of beaches. In Florida, most sea turtle strandings are the result of collisions with boats. Habitat Damage. Mangroves and coral reefs are greatly impacted by coastal development. We depend on mangroves to help reduce storm surge, but they are being cleared for logging, shrimp farming, and to create more open beaches. This is causing increased shoreline hazards and beach erosion. Construction projects involving piers, channels, airstrips, dikes, and land reclamation can kill coral reefs. The development activities cause erosion, resulting in sediment run-off that eventually reaches the coral and damages it. When coral reefs disappear, we see more beach erosion, land retreat, and sedimentation. Flooding. As coastal populations increase and natural coastal protections are degraded or lost, sea-level rise and changes in storm patterns due to climate change are likely to cause damaging floods. Ironically the same people who enjoy living along the beach will experience the most damage. What we can do. We can curtail this damage by lobbying for effective planning and land use regulations in our community that include land-use zoning plans and regulations, protection of coastal habitats, coastal setbacks that restrict development within a fixed distance from the shoreline, watershed management, improved collection and treatment of wastewater and solid wastes, and management of tourism. Share

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/