Earth Watch: Blue Turtle Society

 "There are scenes around Tampa bay that will bring tears to people's eyes. Just a single plastic bag or plastic cup can stain that beauty," says David Westmark from the Blue Turtle Society.
 
SADLY, THIS IS A FAMILIAR SITE NEAR A STORM DRAIN AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA AT ST PETE CAMPUS. TRASH AND STYROFOAM MEANDER TOWARDS TAMPA BAY.
 
A DEVICE MADE OF BUOYS AND NETTING HELPS CAPTURE SOME OF THIS LITTER.
IT'S A CALLED WATER GOAT.

IT WAS DONATED AND CREATED BY A TAMPA LOCAL. RIGHT NOW THERE ARE DOZENS SCATTERED ACROSS TAMPA BAY, AND THERE'S ALWAYS THE NEED FOR MORE.

EVERY FEW DAYS IN THE RAINY SEASON THE BLUE TURTLE SOCIETY HAS A POP UP CLEANUP AT ONE OF TWO LOCATIONS IN ST PETE.
 
"When we capture this marine debris, we're essentially saving the lives of a lot of marine organisms, whether it's a giant manatee or the tiniest shrimp" says David Westmark from the Blue Turtle Society.
 
THE BLUE TURTLE SOCIETY IS GETTING HELP FROM FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE INSTITUTE, USF ST PETE AND ECKERD COLLEGE.

MATERIALS LIKE STYROFOAM ARE LIGHT WEIGHT, BUT EACH PIECE ADDS UP
 
DATA IS COLLECTED TO HELP WITH OTHER FUTURE WATERGOAT PROJECTS.
 
"Hey that's really working. keep it up or maybe something else needs to be done because our watergoat's debris numbers are climbing," says David Westmark from the Blue Turtle Society.
 
SWITCHING TO LESS HARMFUL MATERIALS AND AVOIDING LITTERING IS KEY.
 

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PROGRAM HERE: http://blueturtlesociety.org/