MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. — More than 700 volunteers were expected to participate in the Madeira Beach cleanup on Monday night to celebrate Earth Day.
Caddy's Waterfront Restaurant provided volunteers with safety gear and materials to clean the beach.
People could eat free food and enter for their chance to win prizes for their cleanup effort.
Environmental organizations, including Water Warrior Alliance, Trash Turtles, Coastal Crusaders, and Trash Pirates of Mad Beach, attended the event.
The organizations educated the public about the importance of cleanups, recycling, and turtle nesting season.
"Caddy’s is one of the first to switch over all their locations, and now all their locations on the waterfront have those amber lights to help the turtles for nesting season," said Jenna Byrne, founder of Water Warrior Alliance.
Turtle nesting season runs from March through October. Some volunteers worked to fill the holes on the beaches which may interfere with turtle nesting.
Amanda Fike is visiting Florida from Illinois. She participated in the cleanup with her 5-year-old daughter.
"I just want her to love Mother Earth and love, you know, the people that live here and the animals that live here. We're all equals," she said.
State Representative Linda Chaney attended Monday night's Earth Day event. She sponsored a bill that would ban the intentional release of balloons. If passed, it would be considered littering and subjected to a $150 fine.
"The whole purpose of the bill is to bring awareness to the fact that balloons are harmful to our wildlife and to our environment. I don't have an expectation that people are actually going to be fined for it, not the goal of the bill for me," she said.
Representative Chaney said the goal of the bill is to educate people and change their behavior to protect the environment better. She said the bill was passed in the state legislature, and the next step is the governor's desk.
"Our environment is our economy in the state of Florida, and not only do we enjoy it as residents, but our tourists enjoy it, and if we don't protect it, we can damage it forever," said Representative Chaney.
A state report says hundreds of frail elderly nursing home residents were stacked side by side, head to toe in a small church with no working air conditioning or refrigerator during Hurricane Helene.
