How ECOmersion Supported our Community Following Hurricanes Helene & Milton
After Hurricanes Helene and Milton struck, the devastation rippled through our community. At ECOmersion, our team was eager to participate in relief efforts to help rebuild and restore. Over the past weeks we have been volunteering with various local organizations, helping with efforts ranging from beach cleanups to food distribution. In this post, we’ll take you behind the scenes of our community-focused work and share the partnerships that made it possible.Â
ECOmersion & City of Clearwater Parks & RecreationÂ
ECOmersion teamed up with the City of Clearwater and other dedicated volunteers to restore Clearwater Beach. The storms had left behind a significant amount of debris and excess decaying seagrass on our shoreline. We helped the City of Clearwater collect a total of 27,406 pounds of debris from the beach!Â
We also made a cleanup stop at Moccasin Lake Park in Clearwater. In addition to trash that had washed into the park, many trails were blocked by trees and fallen branches. We helped collect debris and cleared the trails, ensuring they could open and be accessible for everyone to enjoy!Â
Click here to learn more about volunteer opportunities through the City of Clearwater.Â
ECOmersion & Operation BBQ Relief/Saucy LadyÂ
ECOmersion joined the Saucy Posse! We spent many days working alongside Saucy Lady Gina to distribute free meals through Operation BBQ Relief. This included prepping meals, directly handing them out and delivering meals to local neighborhoods.Â
Saucy Lady Gina is a local food truck in St. Pete and Tampa, where she makes all her food from scratch! Each day we volunteered we handed out a total of 2,000 meals! Operation BBQ Relief was able to provide a total of 1,394,730 free meals to communities following the hurricanes.Â
Follow Saucy Lady Gina on InstagramÂ
Learn more about Operation BBQ Relief Â
ECOmersion & Seaside Seabird SanctuaryÂ
Our team also spent some time at the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary. Many of the bird enclosures faced significant damage from the winds and washed-up sand. Two enclosures had about 2 feet of sand in them, which we helped clear. Additionally, the first floor of their Observation tower was completely buried under around 3 feet of sand! We worked alongside other volunteers to shovel and restore the deck to its original condition before the storms.Â
Check out the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary here Â
ECOmersion & Tampa Bay WatchÂ
The ECOmersion team got their hands dirty building oyster reef balls with Tampa Bay Watch! Oyster reef balls provide surface area for oyster larvae to attach and are placed along the shoreline to prevent erosion. We helped hammer out completed reef balls, prepped molds and poured concrete to make 30 new oyster reef balls! One oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day, which emphasizes how important they are for the water quality of Tampa Bay. Â
Click to learn more about Tampa Bay Watch Â
Final note
The aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton was a challenging time for our community, but together it’s clear we can rebuild and restore what was lost. At ECOmersion, we’re committed to continuing our efforts in conservation, community support and environmental restoration. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this journey- we're determined to continue working together to protect our environment and strengthen our community.Â