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(Boca Grande, Florida) - After an evening walk on the beach
during a retreat in Boca Grande, Florida, six members of the
Maryland-based organization Ladies in Leadership noticed a
lot of debris on the beach. With that in mind, Delegates
Susan Aumann, Gail Bates, Addie Eckardt, Jeannie
Haddaway-Riccio,
Susan Krebs
and Nancy Stocksdale set out to leave Boca Grande better
than they found it.
The next day, the ladies combed the beach, picking up trash
such as plastic bags, abandoned buoys, cans, bottles and
broken beach toys. Old ropes, tangled fishing line and
broken fishing lures were also collected. "I could not
believe how much we picked up," said
Delegate Susan Krebs.
"We had bags full of trash that would have otherwise ended
up in the water and in the dunes." According to Delegate
Addie Eckardt, their bags were full within about an hour.
"We found a lot of it in racks of sea grass that had washed
ashore from the Gulf and in the dunes."
The efforts of these environmentally conscious women are
particularly significant this time of year given the fact
that sea turtles are nesting. Boca Grande is known for its
Loggerhead Turtles, an endangered species that nests from
May to October each year. Nesting generally occurs at night
and one female sea turtle can lay up to 100 eggs at a time.
The Gulf side of Florida is also home to Kemp's Ridley,
Leatherback, Hawkbill and Green Sea Turtles. While illegal
harvest is their primary threat, litter on the beach and in
the water is a great threat too, especially plastic bags
which they often mistake for jellyfish. "It was a very
rewarding project," said Delegate Susan Aumann. "We had a
good time and we knew we were making a significant
contribution to the environment."
In addition to turtles, dolphins and manatees have been
known to get entangled in litter. Even the sand dunes in
this fragile coastal wildlife area will benefit from their
efforts since the dunes provide habitat to numerous plants
and animals.
"I saw a manatee while swimming in the water last time I was
in Boca Grande and it was incredible", added Delegate Nancy
Stocksdale. "After an experience like that, you realize how
close these creatures get to humans and how vulnerable they
are to injury from boats and litter. Hopefully we made it a
better place for them to live and play."
While Ladies in Leadership is a Maryland-based organization,
the women were happy to do their part, even in Florida. "We
are all responsible for caring for the eco-systems we
inhabit and visit so we realized that our environmental
efforts do not need to be limited to Maryland" said Delegate
Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio, who has worked for non-profit and
state environmental organizations. "I have always been a
lover of wildlife, especially marine wildlife, so I was more
than happy to do my part."
"We took pictures and memories and left only footprints
behind," added Delegate Gail Bates. "Hopefully, we will
inspire others to do the same."
Ladies in Leadership is a non-profit slate formed to support
conservative candidates for the Maryland General Assembly in
the General Election. They aim to recruit, train, mentor and
support these conservative candidates and build
relationships with other stakeholders in the legislative
process. The organization's leaders are conservative women
currently serving in the Maryland House of Delegates. For
more information, visit
www.ladiesinleadership.org. |