Coastal Cleanup

In the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, Jesuit High School's Environmental Club served the community this weekend as part of a major clean-up effort.

Vincent Girgenti '20, Preston Lawn '18, Everett Lee '18, Xavier Lopez '21, Nico Machado '21, Brendan McDonald '18, J.P. Menendez '19, Danny Meyering '20, Jaden Pask '19, Nate Polite '21, and Anthony Ramirez '18 represented Jesuit at the Hillsborough River & Coastal Cleanup. For several hours on Saturday (Sept. 16) morning, they picked up reams of trash and debris amidst the mangroves at McKay Bay Nature Park.

"It was a great morning of sweaty service in the muddy mangroves by the Port of Tampa," said club moderator Vindri Gajadhar, who accompanied the Jesuit students on Saturday along with her daughter, Nivet Gajadhar, Jesuit biology teacher Amy Martin, and Mary Lou Lopez, P '21. "You can see how much garbage we collected in the photos - dozens of bags of trash and waste. The main items were styrofoam cups and plastic bottles."

The cleanup was part of a major event, the International Coastal Cleanup, and was sponsored locally by Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful. The Environmental Club has several more clean-up events scheduled for later this year, including the post-Gasparilla Parade Cleanup in January and the Great American Cleanup in April.

The Environmental Club is a regular presence on campus, as it collects paper recycling in all school buildings every Friday. 

Please view the photo slideshow below from the Sept. 16 cleanup at McKay Bay Nature Park: