Along the coast of Florida, between 40,000 and 84,000 sea turtle nests reside, and from the months August to October, they hatch hundreds of thousands of baby sea turtles. Only about one in one-thousand survive through adulthood, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Sea turtles live for between 40 to 60 years, and every day they face the dangers of human ignorance. Plastics, debris, and discarded fishing gear harm and kill, but the leading cause of death is commercial fishing, states www.oceana.org. The WSHS chapter of Key Club organized a clean up at Ponce Inlet Beach on the 23 of October to help the environment and save the sea turtles.

It was a success with ten bags filled with garbage that ranged from plastic straws and bottles to boogie boards and old car parts. President of the club, sophomore Annabel Pines said, “By cleaning this trash up, we saved a lot of ocean life. There were some pieces of trash that even looked to us like seaweed or twigs, so we can only imagine that a sea animal would have thought the same and maybe tried to eat it.” Overall, she feels the club members had a great time and did something good for the environment. They look forward to doing more service projects.

Pines described Key as being all about “community, inclusivity, and friendship.” The Florida Key Club Governer’s project this year is Nature and Nurture, and in the words of Pines, “The nature aspect is meant to deal with helping the environment through clean-ups and by following the reduce, reuse, recycle rules. We decided it would be a fun idea to contribute to the Governor’s project through a beach cleanup, especially after all the damage from Hurricane Ian.” 

Sophomore Paulina Rodriguez suggested Ponce Inlet because it is her favorite beach, and after Hurricane Ian, she “saw the detrimental impacts residents and the community faced.” She felt she had a “duty to help out, even in a small way.” Rodriguez felt very satisfied working with fellow club members, especially since she chose the location and because many residents approached them and thanked the students for their help. 

Rodriguez loves sea turtles and helping them even more. She feels that more people should reduce plastic use and choose reusable options instead when possible, or at the very least, throw the plastic in the recycling bin. She said, “It helps a lot to do this in the long run because not only will it make beaches look nicer, [fewer] turtles will be hurt” because less plastic will be left in their habitats.

Treasurer Naomi Young, also a sophomore, couldn’t attend the clean up but loves being a part of Key Club and saving the turtles. She believes reducing plastic use is “vital because it takes so long for it to biodegrade,” anywhere upward of hundreds of years. She concluded “#Savetheturtles.” 

Even without organizing a beach clean up, there are many other ways to protect sea turtles. At the beach, avoid disturbing nests and never litter. Reducing chemical use from home or work also helps, for some of the toxins make their way to the ocean. The City of Fort Lauderdale website article “How You Can Help Sea Turtles” has more details and information on this topic. 

Principal Pete Gaffney even spotlighted the club’s civic service on his Instagram @papagaff_wshs. For more information about Key Club one can contact them on Instagram @wshs.key.