In March, Florida PIRG Students organized our second annual Tampa Bay Youth Oceans Summit!
The summit brought together students, community members and various oceans experts to address critical issues like plastic pollution, habitat loss, and declining marine wildlife in Florida.
We learned about various topics through expert panels, movie screenings, and issue overviews. Many even got hands-on experience from taking a boat tour to learn the ecology of the Tampa Bay area to digging in the sand to learn how scientists monitor sea turtle nesting activity.
Here are some of the highlights from the day!
Panels of experts and fellow students shared their perspectives on topics like plastic pollution and how young people can make an impact in protecting our oceans.
Local organizations and activists to share about their work. Participants got to learn about the work being done in their local communities and sign up for future involvement in actions beyond the summit.
We had the opportunity to “get our hands dirty” and experience getting out on a floating classroom, digging up sand to monitor sea turtle nests, make some vertical oyster gardens, and make some art out of trash.
Protect the Oceans this Summer
If you are interested in an internship to make an impact to protect our oceans and environment or just learn skills to be a more effective organizer, apply for our Organizer Leadership Training Program.
Our training programs don’t just talk about the issues, we train organizers to take real action, from convincing towns and cities to become “Bee Friendly”, to advocating for state policies that help end food insecurity and reduce the use of toxic pesticides, to educating thousands of students about the problem of fast fashion on college campuses across, and more.
The goal of this program is to give you hands-on experience organizing campaign actions in your community. Apply today!