Building Conservation Connections with YOCS Expeditions!

Guest Blog by Olivia Schmeits 

Holding the crystal blue marble in the palm of my hand, the memories of the three days I spent on a beautiful island came flooding back to me. From kayaking to looking at phytoplankton, the inaugural Youth Ocean Conservation Expedition trip was one of the most fun times I have had all year. 

​The journey began by riding a boat over the turquoise blue water to Elliot Key in Biscayne National Park where we would be staying on. After setting up our tents and thoroughly enjoying the view, we barbecued our diner and began talking. In conversation it came up that everyone participating was dedicated to helping the environment and soon we were sharing our conservation projects. It was really great to connect with like-minded people and gave me hope again to know that I wasn't the only youth who still cared. 

​Later that night we looked at phytoplankton under microscopes and the next morning we went for a walk through the hammock to learn about the plants living there. I think I learned more here in one weekend than I do in a whole month of school, and had the best time doing it! The next day, we went searching for organisms in the bay and kayaking. It was really nice to let go for a while and just have fun with people we had all just met. When we sat down at the campfire in the evening and shared our stories, I felt like I had bonded with others over love for our planet and made connections that will last a lifetime.

​But what I think I benefited from most on this trip was helping pick up trash – I know you don’t hear that every day! Where I live, there are many regulated clean-ups and there isn’t a lot of visible trash making it is easy to forget why our environment needs protecting. When I saw all the waste that had washed up at gorgeous Biscayne National Park however, I was astounded that there was collectively more plastic on just one part of the shore than I had ever seen in one time in my life. Seeing this and listening to Ranger Maria talk about how some South American countries throw their trash out with the tide, refueled my motivation and made me remember why I wanted to help contribute to help saving the ocean. 

​The most special part to the weekend was receiving the blue marble for our efforts, and being told to go out there and find someone who is doing something good to the environment and give it to them.
 
Overall, this weekend was really one to motivate those trying to help, and make them feel supported and comfortable in their conservation efforts. I really enjoyed it, and cannot wait to do it again next year!

Editor’s Note – Olivia Schmeits is a high school student from Sarasota, FL and a Youth Ocean Conservation Summit alumni. She recently received a Youth Ocean Conservation Summit Klean It Up mini-grant to support her conservation project focused on implementing biodegradable plastic bags in local businesses.  
 
A special thanks to Biscayne National Park Service Team and the South Florida National Parks Trust for their support of the inaugural Youth Ocean Conservation Summit Expedition program!