kylemcdonald13
Registered: May 2025 City/Town/Province: Tamarac Posts: 1
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As a high school student growing up in South Florida, between Miami and Broward County, I've always been surrounded by nature with palm tree-lined roads and beaches just a few miles away. The rhythm of the waves, the smell of the salt, the warmth of the sand, and the endless horizon always gave me a sense of peace that nowhere else would be able to replicate. But over time, I progressively noticed the hidden damage caused by the carelessness of humans causing significantly harmful pollution to our environment. My breaking point to make a difference however was when I witnessed something that deeply disturbed me. While walking down the beach, I saw trash buried deep in the sand and bottles floating on the surface of the water. But what broke me the most, was seeing a seagull tangled in fishing line. This itself broke me internally, but it caused the rebuilding of something else. It rebuilt my urge to make change.
Normally when people have a beach day, sun, waves, and tanning are what's on their mind. For me, this beach day was a mission. A mission to make a difference. Participating in a beach cleanup was far more than just a few hours of picking up trash on the beach side. It was a wake-up call. I didn't do this project for school credit or a photo opportunity. I did it because I believe service is the rent we pay for living on this Earth. As a member of my school's Mentoring Tomorrows Leaders community service organization, I joined a beach cleanup initiative with Ocean Conservancy to help restore the beauty and overall health of Hollywood Beach. As soon as the sun was out, we arrived prepared with gloves on and trash bags in hand, ready to tackle and take on whatever challenges the beach had to offer.
As Hollywood Beach is a quite busy beach, trash wasn't only brought in by the ocean, but it was left behind by people. At first, I thought that we would be picking up the usual trash that could be found anywhere like plastic bottles and food wrappers. However, I was shocked by the amount and different types of trash that could be found. Fishing lines tangled around rocks, microplastics that were almost undetectable mixed within the sand, broken beach day equipment, and forgotten bags and slippers were just the start of what I found when we got there. Specifically, there was one area where over 120 pounds of garbage was picked up with trash being there for so long that it began to be buried and undiscoverable under the sun. In the hot and beating Florida sun, this was not an easy task at all, but it had to be done. It was heartbreaking to see how the carelessness of humans has polluted such a peaceful place.
With each item we collected, I realized how much the inconsiderate daily habits of humans can affect the planet, especially our oceans and wildlife. What made this experience even more meaningful was the amount of teamwork that was going on and the shared sense of purpose between the people who were participating. I was able to feel the multiple schools and organizations from across the county join up and strangers became teammates. Everyone encouraged each other and celebrated after each bag we filled, which kept us going and reminded each of us why this work mattered. By the end of the day, many areas of the beach looked noticeably cleaner. Dozens of bags filled with various materials of trash and junk were collected. Seeing the results of all our combined efforts was rewarding, but it also left me thinking about the long-term impact we could have if more people had gotten involved in assisting. Hollywood Beach isn't just a tourist destination. It's a habitat that supports sea life and serves as a nesting ground for sea turtles which are endangered, and coastal birds. Pollution throws off the balance between nature and humanity and with the consistent bad habits of humans only caring about us, we often fail to realize the damage we are doing to other species and wildlife. Keeping the area clean isn't simply about aesthetics, it's about preserving the life of animals native to this environment and showing respect to the Earth which is home to all of us.
This project taught me that environmental stewardship begins with actions so little that they may seem insignificant but lead to a big change. All it takes sometimes is taking a few extra steps to walk to the recycling bin instead of throwing it on the ground, reminding a friend to clean up behind themselves, or even picking up the candy wrapper you see blowing on the ground. Now, I find myself more conscious about recycling, using less plastics, and educating others about pollution. Also, my leadership and collaboration skills have grown, reminding me that we all share responsibility for the environment.
Being a part of this project wasn't just about cleaning up a beach, it was about reclaiming a space for nature, taking ownership of the wrongs of humanity, and attempting to make them right. Leaving the beach, I had a stronger sense of purpose, knowing that ai contributed to something bigger than myself.
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