DEP & Partners Host I.CARE Trash Derby

On May 1-3, the Florida Keys Aquatic Preserves (FKAP) partnered with Reef Relief and SeaCamp to host cleanups as part of this year’s I.CARE Trash Derby. The Trash Derby features two days of debris collection, sunrise to sunset, throughout the Florida Keys. The event included a cleanup at Big Pine Key in Coupon Bight Aquatic Preserve and, in collaboration with Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park, a cleanup at Indian Key Fill. FKAP staff, Sofia Arias and Noah Singer, and the local partners led volunteers via kayak and on foot, removing debris from mangroves and shorelines. In addition to plastic trash, fishing gear and construction detritus, volunteers also removed a refrigerator, an inflated beach ball and a functional kayak. Organizers were surprised when the team returned with more kayaks than had left! The two-day event wrapped up with a festival at Founder’s Park in Islamorada, where Sofia and Noah shared information about the Aquatic Preserves Program and celebrated everyone’s hard work.