Baynanza 2009 – Miami Green’s up

Just in time for Earth day, Miami Dade County’s DERM coordinated the Baynanza Biscayne bay clean up day. April 18, was marked by volunteers sifting through numerous spots along the bay and bagging waste washed ashore. The Village Green Ma plus wife and a dozens of others settled at the Vizcaya shore to climb past the iconic gardens into the mangroves. The picture was amazing. The finely maintained gardens provide a lovely backdrop for typical scenes of Miami. It was no surprise that a photo shoot was ongoing from time of arrival to the time we left, three hours later.

The mangrove? A completely different story. Take a look at my own photo shoot. It remains appalling to the amount of plastic washed into the mangroves. Most of this trash comes from careless boaters, partying out on the shores. Among the items removed were a few unwanted lost items such as flip flops and tennis balls. The majority of waste however was comprised of plastic bags and bottles, lunch sized chip bags and mini zip lock bags. The 2 people team filled nine (9) large garbage bags in this short time…

A ban on plastic bottles clearly came to mind, as was a ban on Styrofoam cups for the local favorite caffee cubano. Caffesito? Sure, but not in that cup…

Even though we lest the area reasonably clean, the question is how long it will last. The people not caring should be the ones out here cleaning. A new community hour program? Maybe. Until then, join in next year and keep your garbage inside your boat, car, truck or whatever. Recycling also helps, but you knew this…

Village Green Man