Stow It-Don't Throw It - November 2010 Project Updates

Hey “Stow It-Don’t Throw It” Project participants!

I hope everything’s going well with all of you! This post is an update on some of the work that has been carried out for the “Stow It-Don’t Throw It” project over the past few months, as well as some of our current efforts.

To begin with, many 4-H and youth groups, as well as our partnering organizations worked to expand the efforts of the “Stow It-Don’t Throw It” project throughout the summer. From July 7-11, over 80 Sarasota County 4-H Members attending 4-H Camp Cloverleaf assembled approximately 200 personal-sized fishing line recycling bins while learning about the importance of fishing line recycling, and how they can educate others to protect marine wildlife. These 4-H members also brainstormed ideas for youth led service projects that could help combat other environmental problems affecting our state. A special thanks to the Sarasota County 4-H Foundation for providing funding for summer camp supplies and for their continued support of this project. A special thanks also goes to the Sarasota County 4-H Staff and the Florida 4-H Camping Program for incorporating the project into their summer camp activities!

Around 100 of the recycling bins assembled by these Sarasota County 4-H Members, were distributed on June 11th, to anglers and event participants attending the captain’s meeting for Tampa Bay Watch’s annual Ed Alber Tarpon Rodeo tournament. We greatly appreciate the support of Tampa Bay Watch and their efforts to promote sustainable fishing practices as well as protect the marine environment in the Tampa Bay Area.

Thanks to support from Karen Blyler and the Florida 4-H Marine Education Program, the “Stow It-Don’t Throw It” Project was also shared with participants in other 4-H educational programs this summer, including the Florida 4-H Marine Ecology Summer Camp.

We’re excited to continue to involve groups, like Volusia County 4-H, who assembled their first fishing line recycling bins as part of the “Stow It-Don’t Throw It” Project earlier this year, and look forward to the opportunity to involve youth and environmental organizations in new counties across Florida in our work.

Currently, we are excited to be working with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, to involve students at Destin Middle School in the assembly and distribution of personal-sized fishing line recycling bins. Youth and adults involved in this program are working to spread the word about the project, collect tennis ball containers, and develop outreach materials to further their efforts. We are also in the process of working with the Manatee County Natural Resources Department to bring personal-sized fishing line recycling bins to the Manatee County area.

We’re also continuing to work with Green My Parents, a youth movement to empower youth to teach their families and friends how to protect the planet, while saving money, that I introduced to you in my last e-mail update. Green My Parents is working to inspire 1 million youth across the country to collectively save 1 million dollars, while helping out the environment and giving back to their communities. You can learn more about how to get involved in this program by visiting www.greenmyparents.com or “liking” “Green My Parents” on Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/greenmyparents. From these sites, you can also find more information about the Green My Parents book, which features an article about the work we’re doing with the “Stow It-Don’t Throw It” Project across the state of Florida!

As part of our outreach efforts, I had the opportunity to share the work being carried out by “Stow It-Don’t Throw It” Project participants, as well as the Green My Parents program to students participating in the University of Florida’s Young Entrepreneurs for Sustainability and Leadership Program. I was joined by Green My Parents team member Josh Stempel, via a video conference from California. It was exciting to discuss the “Green My Parents” program with the youth participating and share with them ways they could implement these ideas to bring about positive change in their communities.

As we continue to spread the word to the public about the importance of recycling used fishing line and protecting aquatic environments, the “Stow It-Don’t Throw It” Project and its efforts were helped by being featured on Sarasota Access 19’s Inside County 4-H TV show which is run by Sarasota County 4-H member, Jared Padgett. This show provided another great opportunity to promote sustainable fishing techniques to the public!

Please continue to check out updates to the “Stow It-Don’t Throw It” website – www.stowitdontthrowitproject.org, including general page updates, blog posts with photos and information regarding the work being carried out across the state, and other important details! Also, check out our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Florida/The-Stow-It-Dont-Throw-It-Project/84899224721 and share it with your friends!

If you are reading this and you or your organization would like to become involved in our work, please get in touch with me. I would be happy to work with you to develop an action plan for your group to help with the assembly and distribution of the personal-sized fishing line recycling bins and/or our environmental outreach efforts. It is also good to see many groups who participated in this project in the past, continue to stay active. If you have already been involved in the program, and would like to continue to help, please let me know!

As always, thank you for all of your dedication and support of the “Stow It-Don’t Throw It” Project. It is exciting to see how successful you have made this program over the past two years! I’m looking forward to working with all of you in the upcoming year to continue our work to protect Florida’s marine wildlife.

-
Sean Russell
Stow It-Don’t Throw It Project Chair
srussell92@comcast.net
stowitdontthrowitproject.org

"Stow It-Don't Throw It" Project at the 2010 Tampa Bay Watch Tarpon Rodeo

Tampa Bay Watch hosted its annual Ed Alber Tarpon Rodeo All-Release Tournament June 10-11th this year. At this event, we were able to distribute some of the personal-sized fishing line recycling bins that were assembled by Sarasota County 4-H Members attending 4-H Summer Camp. These recycling bins were passed out to many of the anglers and event sponsors at the captains meeting on Friday night. A special thanks to Tampa Bay Watch for their support of the "Stow It-Dont' Throw It" Project and for allowing us to be a part of their tournament!

World Ocean Day 2010

On June 6th, Sean Russell, "Stow It-Don't Throw It" Project Coordinator teamed up with staff at Mote Marine Laboratory to run a booth on sustainable fishing practices at Mote's World Ocean Day Celebration. World Ocean Day is an event designed to raise awareness of our planet's oceans and encourage people to work together to protect these important ecosystems. Through this educational display, children of all ages had the chance to decorate the aquarium with their own posters on protecting marine wildlife. Families attending also were able to learn about the negative impact fishing line can have on wildlife, and about the importance of recycling used fishing line. Check out the pictures from the event below! For more information on World Ocean Day visit: http://www.theoceanproject.org/wod/.

Sarasota County 4-H Camp Participants Assemble Fishing Line Recycling Bins

On June 7-11, over 80 4-H members from Sarasota County spent a week at Cloverleaf 4-H Center in Lake Placid, FL for 4-H Summer Camp. During the week these participants took part in a variety of classes and activities ranging from archery and canoeing to crafts and fishing. As part of their nature classes for the week, youth learned about the "Stow It-Don't Throw It" project and the importance of recycling used fishing line. They then worked throughout the day to assemble approximately 200 personal-sized fishing line recycling bins to be distributed to anglers at a varitey of different events and locations. A special thanks to the Sarasota County 4-H members, Summer Camp Staff, and Sarasota County 4-H Staff for their help with this project!

Operation: Military Kids Program Assembles Recycling Bins

In Orlando, at an Army Reserves Yellow Ribbon Program, 25 kids between the ages of 7 - 16 participated in the "Stow It-Don't Throw It" Project. Yellow Ribbon programs are events where military soldiers, that are about to be sent to Iraq or Afganistan, get together to gather information related to them, and their children get information and are able to take part in a variety of programs designed for them. Through the 4-H Operation: Military Kids Program, I was able to use this event as an opportunity to these youth involved in a service project. OMK has a Mobile Tech Lab with 10 laptops and a wireless card. I pulled up the "Stow It-Don't Throw It" video on YouTube showing the how fishing line hurts marine wildlife. The kids all watched the video and afterwards we talked about how they felt after seeing all those animals harmed and what we could do to change that. Some brainstormed educating fisherman and some said passing out bags that they can put their fishing line in. I then introduced the "Stow It-Don't Throw It" bin assembly guide video on YouTube, right after we briefed. As they watched the video I asked them if this was something they wanted to do and made a prediction on how many bins we could construct. We ended up putting together 112 personal-sized fishing line recycling bins! The kids also asked if they could take some bins home for their dads and neighbors because they fish. The rest of the completed recycling bins were given to the Clay County Marine Life Club, who go boating throughout Clay and Duval Counties. Club members plan to distribute them as they go out and educate boaters and anglers about the importance of recycling used fishing line!

Submitted by:
December James
4-H Operation: Military Kids
Youth Program Specialist
operationmilitarykids.org

A special thanks to those involved in the OMK program for supporting the "Stow It-Don't Throw It" Project and our work to protect marine life! Check out the photos below from this event:

Sarasota County 4-H Members Assemble Fishing Line Recycling Bins

4-H members representign a variety of clubs throughout Sarasota County came together recently to assemble personal-sized fishing line recycling bins as part of the "Stow It-Don't Throw It" Project. The work of the members involved was filmed for the "Inside County 4-H" TV show which will air on Access Sarasota. The completed bins will be passed out to anglers and given to our partner organizations as we work to involve additional groups and partners in this program. Thanks to everyone who helped with this effort!

Leon County 4-H Members Distribute Fishing Line Recycling Bins

The Leon County Arrowheads 4-H Club distributed some of the 100 personal-sized fishing line recycling bins they assembled as part of the "Stow It-Don't Throw It" Project at two educational outreach programs they initiated at Lake Ella in Tallahassee, FL and at a meeting of the Florida State University Fishing Club. Check out the pictures of this group at work as they spread the word about the importance of recycling fishing line and empower anglers with the tools they need to properly dispose of their used fishing line! A special thanks to the Leon County 4-H members who are helping make this project a success!

FSU Fishing Club Meeting

Recycling Bin Distribution and Outreach at Lake Ella

The "Stow It-Don't Throw It" Project Gears Up for 2010!

As we enter the New Year, I am excited to announce that over the past 14 months, participants in the "Stow It-Don't Throw It" Project exceeded our initial goal of creating 1,000 fishing line recycling bins, by assembling approximately 1,600 personal-sized fishing line recycling bins, and distributing them to anglers and boaters across Florida!

For 2010, we are looking forward to working with all of you, as well as teaming up with new partners and project participants as we work to accomplish a new goal of assembling and distributing 2,000 personal-sized fishing line reycling bins in the next 12 months!

We need your help to make this happen! If you aren't already involved in the "Stow It-Don't Throw It" Project, we would love to have your support! For more information, send me an e-mail at srussell92@comcast.net.

Sean Russell
Stow It-Don't Throw It Project Chair

"Stow It-Don't Throw It" Project Feautred on Nickelodeon!

This past summer, Sean Russell, "Stow It-Don't Throw It" Project chair, worked with Nicklodeon's Big Green Help Program to spread the word about the importance of fishing line recycling. Sean, and the work of the "Stow It-Don't Throw It" Project are featured in in a TV Shout Out that runs on Nickelodeon, as well as on their website! For more information about the program, or to view the video, visit: nick.com/biggreenhelp!

Regional Ocean Conference for Students

The "Stow It-Don't Throw It" Project was highlighted once again at the Florida Aquarium's Regional Ocean Conference for Students on December 4th, 2009. This conference challenges students in the Tampa Bay area to cosider the environmental issues facing the Tampa Bay ecosystem, and then create a plan to help combat those problems. It allows these youth to hear first hand from experts who are knowledgeable in a variety of environmental fields, and empowers them to work together and use the knowledge they gain to make an impact on their communities. During the conference, "Stow It-Don't Throw It" Project chair, Sean Russell, spoke to the participants about the steps to creating a community action project, and about the work being done by participants involved in the "Stow It-Don't Throw It" Project.


A special thanks once again to the Florida Aquarium for their continued support of the "Stow It-Don't Throw It" Project and our work! Please see below for pictures from the event.