Environmental Center hosts plastic reduction awareness event featuring Oceana organizer
The UNF Environmental Center will host two upcoming events focused on educating the community on the benefits of reducing single-use plastic consumption. The fun and educational events are as follows:
- Single-Use Plastics 101
- Wednesday, Jan. 20 at 6 p.m. via Zoom
- The workshop will discuss the impact of single-use plastics on coastal and marine ecosystems. The workshop will feature Catherine Uden, a campaign organizer for Oceana in South Florida for over 10 years. She has experience in campaign management and grassroots organizing leading successful campaigns to reduce plastic pollution, protect coastal habitat, and ensure public beach access. She is currently working on Oceana’s campaigns to stop seismic airgun blasting and offshore drilling in the Atlantic, ban the sale and trade of shark fins in the United States, reduce plastic pollution, and protect the Magnuson-Stevens Act, our nation’s key fisheries law. Oceana is the world’s largest international non-profit organization that focuses solely on protecting the oceans through science-based policy work.
- Community Cleanup
- Saturday, Jan. 30 at 10 a.m. at Palmetto Leaves Regional Park, 13820 Old St Augustine Rd., Jacksonville
- The Environmental Center will host a volunteer community cleanup to collect debris found along local waterways, with a focus on plastic items. After the cleanup, volunteers can take a short drive to Julington-Durbin Creek Preserve where they can enjoy more than 6 miles of hiking trails. Space is limited and registration is required.
These events are part of a grant awarded to UNF and Eckerd College by the NOAA Marine Debris Program to reduce single-use plastic consumption and foster long-term pro-environmental behaviors among undergraduate students in coastal communities in order to reduce marine debris in those areas over time.