Dear Peter & Renee,
Thank you so much for your support with this year’s “Evening for the Bay.”
Your partnership is crucial to our connection with the community! Thanks to your support we raised over $100,000 for our education and restoration programs.
From all of us at Tampa Bay Watch, Thank You.
Rachel Arndt
Dear Editor,
Please see the photos above. I would love to highlight the importance of reducing and reusing especially because of this time of giving thanks.
Save a sea turtle and throw away those artificial jellyfish. Every year countless turtles mistake discarded plastic bags for their staple food, jellyfish. Plastic bags, along with plastic water bottles and other debris find their way into our local Florida waterways. Millions of plastic objects and trillions of micro-plastics are distributed throughout the world’s oceans.
There are numerous ways to reduce the impact of discarded plastic in Florida waterways. The most powerful is to reduce your plastic consumption by using reusable water bottles, silverware and bags. When you do find yourself with a single use plastic container, make sure it’s recycled at a local recycling facility.
This Christmas season, a local couple spent four hours collecting trash on the shores of St. Petersburg. They collected five full trash bags of debris, almost 70 lbs. Items found included dozens of plastic bags, discarded rope, plastic bottles, lighters, flip flops, and two wooden chairs. Properly disposed, these items are no longer exposed to solar UV radiation, reducing their potential to create micro-particles and their chances of ending up in a local turtle or bird.
This reporter challenges each of our readers to help our sea turtle population – pick up one piece of debris on your next sunset beach stroll and know that every bit makes a difference in the lives of our aquatic friends.
Chris and Maja (St. Petersburg Florida)