Return to flip book view
Message District 6990 Recent. Activities & Upcoming Plans Virtual BulletinApril 2025 See ideas for Earth Day on page 5 and 6. Also please visit the District 6990 website: https://rotary6990.org
TABLE OFCONTENTS3 MESSAGE FROM ENVIRONMENT CHAIR R. BULL4 EARTH DAY CONTEST INFO 5-6 EARTH DAY ACTIVITIES IDEAS7 BAYNANZA REGISTRATION 8 DEERFIELD BEACH ROTARY – SEA LAB PROGRAM9 TRASHERCISE – JOIN THE TEAM.10 KEY BISCAYNE CLUB CLEANUP DAY11 WESTON CLUB BEACH CLEANUP12 SHOCKING IMPACT OF PLASTIC13 ENDPLASICSOUP INFO & MOVIE TRAILER14 ESRAG INFO15-17 TREEKLY – PLANT MANGROVES BY WALKING
Message from the District Environmental Chair Dear Environmentally Concerned Rotarians, Rotaractors, Interactors & Friends:April is Rotary Environment Month. There are so activities that we can do to Support the Environment. Earth Day, Arbor Day, World Migratory Bird Day and so much more where we can reduce, reuse and recycle, cleanup, conserve, plant a tree and we have more. listed varies ideas in this bulletin. Many activities will even improve our health.Health expert, Jillian Michaels, says that a simple workout can extend your lifespan “up to 7 years”. Simply walk 5,000 steps per day. Here is the link to her article: https://shorturl.at/smwTt . While you are walking, why not TRASHERCISE (details on page 9), and then since you are already walking, join TREEKLY and have a tree planted on a daily basis by just walking 5,000 steps (details on pages 15-17). I have had over 600 trees planted. For EARTH DAY, we have a contest and several suggestions on different activities, including joining ENDPLASTICSOUP and ESRAG (See pages 13 &14). I look forward to hearing from you.Feedback is essential for us to improve.Robert H. Bull ESDAC Chair3
EARTH DAYCONTESTEarth Day is approaching and will be on April 22nd this year. To commemorate this date, we are holding a special contest, open to ALL (Rotary members, family, friends, students and the community at large). There will be three cash equivalent awards ($50, $35 and $25) for the best submissions. Just email in your photographs of your Environmental activities. The awards will be gift certificates from PUBLIX and if we have winners in the Northern Bahamas, their winners will receive cash via Zelle or some other means. April has other Environmental Days and April 25th is Arbor Day. Arbor Day has been around a lot longer than Earth Day. For those who also want to compete for a special 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle as an award, please write the word "TREES" on your submission. All entries will compete for the threePublix gift cards. Only those who also write the word "TREES" on their submission will also compete for the puzzle. Here is a photo of the jigsaw puzzle box.All students will receive a Community Service Certificate by email. Please provide the student's full name, grade, parent's email address, school and location.We look forward to receiving many submissions and evaluating the entries with a select group from ESDAC.4
EARTH DAYCONTESTHERE ARE SOME IDEASBEACH CLEANUPSWhile Miami-Dade county Clubs will be participating in the County-wide Biscayne Bay Cleanup, BAYNANZA, we want to encourage all Clubs to participate in a cleanup. Any beach, canal, lake or waterway can be used for a cleanup activity. Drop off printer cartridges at Office Max for reclycingIn the USA and Canada, World Migratory Bird Day is celebrated on May 10th, but Florida State Parks will celebrate it on April 19th. This year's theme is: "Shared Spaces, Creating Bird-Friendly Cities and Communities". PLANT A TREE5
Many BEST BUY stores will accept used tech products regardless of their age or where they were bought. Check with your local Best Buy store. Here is a photo of an old TV being dropped off for recycling. Most Publix Supermarkets have recycling bins by their entrance. Plastic bags (including plastic bags from dry cleaners and similar items) will be converted into picnic tables. They also have bins for Styrofoam and paper.TV sets and screen monitors can also be delivered to a recycling company in Hialeah (eSCRAP, www.escrapusa.com2220 E. 11thAve. in Hialeah)Call(2)Recycle accepts all kinds of single-use batteries (from AAA size and up), rechargeable batteries and cellphones. It so simple, just buy a Battery & Cellphone Recycling Kit. (For details visit: www.call2recycle.org). EARTH DAYCONTESTHERE ARE MORE IDEAS6
7Online registration for BaynanzaBiscayne Bay Cleanup Day 2025is now open!Baynanza registration is now live! BAYNANZA CLEANUP REGISTRATION is open until Wednesday, April 2, 2025. Site capacities are limited so please register only for expected participants.The 43rdBiscayne Bay Cleanup Day will take place on Saturday, April 12, 2025 from 9 a.m. to noon. Baynanza 2025 has identified over 30 locations across Miami-Dade County. Registered volunteers at all official cleanup sites will receive a free commemorative T-shirt. Community service hours are also available to participating students.Please click on this link to register: https://shorturl.at/Bxj4OI have already registered and will be working at Chapman Park, a mangrove area.
The Rotary Club of Deerfield Beach’s hosted their first Sea Lab field trip to Marine Lab, providing their students with an immersive marine science experience. They had the opportunity to snorkel in seagrass beds and participate in citizen science projects. This hands-on experience fostered curiosity, environmental stewardship, and a deeper understanding of ocean conservation.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EehLfTt8Nq08
Join the Trashercise Team. It’s easy. Just get a grabber, a bag and go for a walk. You will be surprised with what you will find. We have found $20 bills, coins, golf balls, tools, scissors, etc. Plus with walking you might lose some weight, as well. Your children can earn Community Service Hours. Just send us a photo of your child with the bags they picked up. They’ll earn an hour for two bags. Please include the date, student’s name, grade and school. Miami-Dade County has a “Let’s Clean Things Up” campaign.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAMw2HvCk6A="https://www.youtube.com/embed9
On Saturday, March 1st, the Rotary Club of Key Biscayne proudly participated in the Community Clean-Up Day, helping to remove litter from public spaces and mangroves. Over 150 pounds of garbage collected—and a group of dedicated Rotarians proud of their contribution to a cleaner environment!Mayor of Key Biscayne, Joe Rasco, and a Rotarian cleaning up Calusa Park.Lower right: “strange things collected?” Three full buckets of tennis balls from Calusa Park Lower Left: Rotarians proud of their work and their results.ROTARY CLUB OF KEY BISCAYNECOMMUNITY CLEAN-UP DAY10
Beach CleanupMarch 15, 2025In the morning of March 15th, the Weston Rotary Club organized a beach cleanup at Dania Beach. About 35 lbs. of litter was collected in less than two hours.11No matter how much we try, there is always more to do. Here is what was found among the dune plants
12Microplastics hinder plant photosynthesis, study finds, threatening millions with starvationResearchers say problem could increase number of people at risk of starvation by 400m in next two decadesThe world’s staple crops such as wheat, maize and rice are under threat from pervasive particlesThe pollution of the planet by microplastics is significantly cutting food supplies by damaging the ability of plants to photosynthesize, according to a new assessment.The analysis estimates that between 4% and 14% of the world’s staple crops of wheat, rice and maize is being lost due to the pervasive particles. It could get even worse, the scientists said, as more microplastics pour into the environment.About 700 million people were affected by hunger in 2022. The researchers estimated that microplastic pollution could increase the number at risk of starvation by another 400 million in the next two decades.Plastic pollution leaves seabirds with brain damage similar to Alzheimer’s, study showsBlood tests on migratory chicks fed plastics by their parents show neurodegeneration, as well as cell rupture and stomach lining decayResearchers have discovered that healthy-looking sable shearwater chicks, pictured, are experiencing brain damage through ingesting plastic.Ingesting plastic is leaving seabird chicks with brain damage “akin to Alzheimer’s disease”, according to a new study – adding to growing evidence of the devastating impact of plastic pollution on marine wildlife.Analysis of young sable shearwaters, a migratory bird that travels between Australia’s Lord Howe Island and Japan, has found that plastic waste is causing damage to seabird chicks not apparent to the naked eye, including decay of the stomach lining, cell rupture and neurodegeneration.Shocking stories in “THE GUARDIAN” report the impact of plastics to our food sources and the potential brain damage that they cause
Please visit the EndPlasticSoup site: www.endplasticsoup.orgPlease have your Club consider joining this entity. You can also join on an individual basisENDPLASTICSOUP has a very simple focus, but it’s not easy.Their focus and goal is clear, get plastic out of our waterways and our Oceans. Please join this effort.https://youtu.be/WhOgnzuYkLM?si=HO1Wm4pJ2t3Qv4opPlease watch this “PLASTIC PEOPLE” TRAILER DOCUMENTARYAfter viewing this trailer, you will understand why it is so important to address this issue. Please visit the EndPlasticSoup site.13
Please visit the ESRAG website: www.esrag.orgPlease consider joining ESRAG1443If you are not yet an ESRAG member, please #join us! http://ow.ly/U51v50OCsN9Membership only costs US$30 a year for Rotarians, and US$15 for Rotaractors. You can also get a five-year membership, save a little, and help a lot! Your membership supports ESRAG’s vital work in providing education and free technical assistance to help the Rotary family take effective environmental action.
• Our District (6990) entered into an agreement with TREEKLY (not-for-profit entity). Treekly will plant trees on your behalf based on the number of steps you take on a daily basis. There is NO COST to sign up and earn trees. Just visit: www.treekly.org for more info.• The following two pages show how to sign up. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------INFORMATION HAVE MANGROVE FORESTS• Mangrove forests capture tremendous amount of carbondioxide. They are a carbon sink. • Mangroves also help reduce shore erosion and can help absorb storm surge impact.• Their root system help bind and build soils, and their root filter nitrates, phosphates and other pollutants in the water improving water quality flowing from rivers, canals into the oceans/bays.• Mangrove forests provide habitat and refuge for birds, fish, invertebrates, mammals and plants.Plant Mangrove Trees By Just Walking 15
16
17