The Floral Park Ecology club participated in a worldwide beach clean up on September 15. Twenty-three students, along with Ms. Mamo and Mrs. Sebber, spent the morning picking up trash along Jones Beach. The clean up lasted from 10 am to 12 pm. In this short amount of time, 354 pounds of garbage were collected.

The International Coastal Cleanup, which began over 30 years ago, is conducted every year by The Ocean Conservancy. Over 100 countries have participated worldwide. Last year about 20 million pounds of trash were collected from coast lines around the world. The most damaging offenders polluting coast lines include cigarette butts and bottle caps. The ecology club recovered 493 cigarette butts and 299 bottle caps from Jones Beach. Overall, the club collected 2,644 items, filling nine large garbage bags. Even though Jones Beach is just one small area of the world, those who participated made a big difference. The club is currently working on a display to showcase the collected items and to educate students on the effects of littering.