As Mr. 305 himself said, “everyday above ground is a great day.” But plastic pollution in the ocean has been linked to increased levels of greenhouse gas emissions, and rising sea levels, putting at risk our number of days above ground.
The day after World Ocean Day, Summer Associates from firms across Miami gathered at Key Biscayne to assist in a beach cleanup organized by SFALP. As we are all calling Miami home for the summer, this opportunity to get involved with the community and spread awareness of plastic pollution on our beaches was enriching and a great experience to enjoy with our group of summer associates. Trash found ranged from beer bottles and caps, to fishing line and phone chargers. We were provided with gloves, buckets, trash-picking tools, and instructions on how best and safely to collect trash we found.
After enjoying a light breakfast and applying loads of sunscreen, we mingled with other law students summering in Miami, and even befriended a few ducks. By the end of the morning we had collected 285 pounds of trash by the end of the morning. Bilzin Summer Associates Sarah Carraher, Isabella Durand, and Carlos Markovich won the award for “coolest trash”, finding a bra (pictured below with their prizes)! The Bilzin summer experience is about more than networking and working on legal assignments, it’s about cultivating a sense of community and recognizing the responsibility we have to the city outside of the office.
As summarized by some fellow summer associates:
“It’s incredible how much trash there is on the beach, and it’s great that we get to help clean it up and do our best to make a difference.”
“I’m having a great time, we get to come out here in the morning get some sun and do some charity work with our Bilzin summers, as well as other summer associates from across the city.”
Less plastic is fantastic! Let’s all do our best to reduce plastic pollution by using reusable water bottles and utensils, switching to metal straws instead of plastic, and most importantly, not littering. Dale!
