FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 22, 2014
DEP'S NORTHWEST DISTRICT AND AQUATIC PRESERVES HOST SHORELINE CLEANUP IN CELEBRATION OF EARTH DAY
~Shoreline cleanup highlights easy actions that can make an impact on the environment~
 Volunteers collected nearly 40 bags of trash during the shoreline cleanup.
PENSACOLA – The
Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Northwest District and
Northwest Florida Aquatic Preserves hosted a shoreline cleanup at "Project
GreenShores" in celebration of Earth Day. More than 60 volunteers
collected 39 bags of trash during the three hour event.
“Earth
Day is a reminder that the natural resources we sometimes take for granted are not infinite, and without
protection they can become polluted or be depleted. There are easy actions each
of us can take to make sustainable practices part of our daily lives,”
said Shawn Hamilton, director of DEP's Northwest District. “Our goal
today is to highlight those easy actions so everyone can make informed
decisions about the simple choices they make every day that impact our
environment.”
The department promotes environmental protection through regulatory consistency,
accountability and partnerships in support of a growing economy and healthy community.
The shoreline cleanup event provided an opportunity for the department to
promote green actions and to increase community awareness to the department’s
mission and environmental priorities.
Community
members working in the downtown area were invited to participate by
dedicating their lunch hour to the shoreline cleanup. One local company took
the opportunity to encourage their employees to get involved. More than 35 Gulf
Power Company employees volunteered and spent their lunch hours cleaning trash
from the shoreline.
"Project GreenShores"
is a habitat restoration and creation project located
in Downtown Pensacola along the urban shoreline of Pensacola Bay. This
habitat restoration effort partners DEP with the City of Pensacola, Escambia County, the Ecosystem Restoration
Support Organization, the EPA Gulf of Mexico Program, the National Fish and
Wildlife Foundation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA, Gulf Power,
local agencies, businesses, and volunteers in a community-based effort to
restore oyster reef, salt marsh and seagrass habitat within the Pensacola
Bay System. Restoring the Pensacola Bay estuary to its historic state
stabilizes shorelines and provides essential habitat for wildlife and conservation.
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