Wild Amelia
Press Release
Submitted by Kathy Brooks
December 19, 2018 1:00 p.m.
Wild Amelia’s January Wild Nite on Tuesday, January 8, will focus on an increasingly concerning problem: MICROPLASTICS in the ocean. The program will be held at 7 p.m. at the Peck Center Auditorium, 516 S. 10th Street in Fernandina Beach; the speaker will be Dr. Maia McGuire, University of Florida/IFAS Extension Service Sea Grant Program.
Plastic pollution has become an increasingly serious problem in the world’s oceans. Microplastics are pieces of plastic smaller than 5mm and are now being found in fish and invertebrates. Where do they come from? Why do we care? What should we do about them?
Those are some of the questions that the Florida Microplastics Awareness Project is attempting to answer by raising awareness of the issue, by having citizen scientists collect and analyze coastal water samples for presence of microplastics and by encouraging everyone to reduce consumption and disposal of plastics.
In her presentation, “Microplastics—What’s the Big Deal,” Dr. McGuire will discuss what is known and not known about microplastics and the public’s willingness to change behavior about plastic consumption.
Growing up on the islands off Bermuda, Maia McGuire developed an early interest in marine biology. Years later, she received her Ph.D in marine biology from the University of Miami. Since 2001, she has worked with the University of Florida’s Sea Grant Extension Service Program, conducting educational programs on topics such as climate change, marine debris, and invasive species. In 2015, Dr. McGuire received a grant to start the Florida Microplastics Awareness Project. Learn more about this at www.plasticsaware.org and by attending the January 8th Wild Nite.
Wild Amelia is an all-volunteer organization with year-round educational programs for adults and children about the wildlife and wild places of this bioregion. Wild Nites are monthly nature forums; for more information about Wild Amelia, please visit wildamelia.org and Wild Amelia on Facebook.