During the month of September, the Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation Department (PBC Parks) participated in the national Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz campaign, which is aimed at raising public awareness about the importance of pollinators and the role parks play in advancing pollinator health and native habitat.
Continue reading More than 1,300 Observations and 600 Species Recorded During PBC Parks for Pollinators BioBlitzOn June 8, Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation Department, in partnership with Visit Palm Beach, The Nature Conservancy’s Blowing Rocks Preserve, Palm Beach County Environmental Resources Management, Beach Bucket Foundation, and Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area hosted a cleanup to celebrate and draw attention to World Ocean Day, which is recognized on June 8 every year.
Continue reading More than 700 Pounds of Debris Collected During World Ocean Day 2022On September 18, Adopt-A-Park Partners collected over 1,400lbs of trash at county-operated beaches and parks as part of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), a global awareness day that began in 1986 by Ocean Conservancy to remove trash from the world’s beaches and waterways. Our partners came out via foot, paddle and SCUBA to host seven cleanups, enlisting over 400 volunteers. The ICC is also an opportunity to educate the community about how plastics and waste impact their environments and how they can make a positive difference by reducing, reusing and recycling every day.
A huge amount of gratitude goes out to all of our partners and those who participated and contributed to the success of the ICC. Special thanks to the following participating Adopt-A-Park Partners who made a difference during the ICC: Loxahatchee River Center, Visit Palm Beach/Palm Beach Eco-tourism Association, Beach Bucket Foundation, Pura Vida Divers, Nautical Ventures, Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, Lake Osbourne Estates Homeowners Association and the Caloosa Cleanup Crew.
A monthly clean up host, The Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute was able to hosts their largest cleanup to date with 62 volunteers. They removed 160lbs of garbage—a new record for our partner. Loxahatchee River Center adopted Coral Cove Park this day and removed over 100lbs from the shoreline with the help of almost 90 volunteers of all ages. Meanwhile, Visit Palm Beach/Palm Beach Eco-tourism Association and the Beach Bucket Foundation held a collaborative effort at Ocean Reef Park, removing over 600lbs from the beach with almost 150 volunteers—an outstanding effort leaving our beaches pristine and trash free that weekend.
At Phil Foster Park, our long-term Adopt-A-Park partner, Pura Vida Divers, hosted a land and water cleanup under the Blue Heron Bridge. A team of divers from Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office came out to support this event and helped remove litter that was created from a vessel that had previously polluting the waterways. Pura Vida hosted 49 volunteers and removed 155lbs of garbage. Nautical Ventures organized a paddle cleanup around Peanut Island with 28 volunteers and removed nearly 200lbs of garbage from the Island and surrounding waterways. In John Prince Park, Lake Osborne Estates Homeowners Association came together and cleaned around the trails and shoreline of Lake Osborne, removing 111lbs of litter.
Special thanks to Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful, Inc. for championing this event each year, encouraging organizations to host or participate in organized cleanups and for providing supplies and t-shirts to participants.
You can help keep PBC Parks’ beaches and parks clean by becoming an Adopt-A-Park partner, a program that gives participants a sense of park ownership and an outlet to give back to the community by maintaining parks, beaches, and trails through picking up litter, maintaining flower beds, painting, and more. You can also join or organize a beach cleanup. Learn more about volunteering with PBC Parks here: https://discover.pbcgov.org/parks/General/Volunteer.aspx.
Clumps of seaweed — usually Sargassum — as well as grasses and other marine algae and organisms that wash ashore have a name. It’s called beach wrack, and although some say it may look or smell unpleasant, it does not create a health risk to beachgoers. In fact, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, it’s “a pivotal part of the beach ecosystem.”
Beach wrack is beneficial to animals and marine habitats in a number of ways —
Seaweed is constantly present in the Atlantic Ocean and is washed ashore more frequently during sustained onshore winds with seasonal shifts in the Gulf Stream, particularly when the Gulf Stream nudges closer to the coast in the summer. Occasionally, weather conditions exist in which an unusual amount of beach wrack is washed ashore continuously over a period of time. Before you head to the beach, be sure to check PBC Parks’ Beach Conditions page for locations where concentrations may be heavy.
Audubon Florida’s educational presentation in this video provides a good overview of the importance of beach wrack: https://youtu.be/9m8o5ZRcNSI
You can help keep PBC Parks’ beaches clean by becoming an Adopt-A-Park partner, a program that gives participants a sense of park ownership and an outlet to give back to the community by maintaining parks, beaches, and trails through picking up litter, maintaining flower beds, painting, and more. You can also join or organize a beach cleanup. Learn more about volunteering with PBC Parks here: https://discover.pbcgov.org/parks/General/Volunteer.aspx.
Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation 