Start Recycling Program
Recycling teaches positive behaviors that help keep plastic bottles and cans out of our waters.
We have talks ready to go on a variety of topics including:
- Watersheds
- Storm Water Runoff
- Recycling
Contact Tom Herder at Mobile Bay National Estuary Program to schedule your talk.
(251) 431-6409 | therder@mobilebaynep.com
Related Actions
Join a Community Cleanup
Community cleanups are a social, hands-on way that teens can help cleanup the litter and debris that gets washed down storm drains and into our waterways where it can pollute the water and injure marine creatures.
Take a Field Trip
There are dozens of opportunities for students to learn about stormwater, trash, and pollution's impact on our streams, rivers, and bays.
Types of Pollution
When water rushes off hardened surfaces, erosion of sediments degrade water conditions and smother and disrupt seagrass growth and the habitat for benthic organisms they provide.
Compounds like oil, grease, and heavy metals take a long time to break down and threaten the health of both aquatic and human life.
Litter is not only unsightly, but it also causes a variety of problems to the ecosystem as it enters our waters where it is often is mistaken for food by fish and invertebrates.
Too much fertilizer, pet waste, and other nutrients in our water often lead to serious problems like lowering dissolved oxygen levels, preventing seagrass growth, and killing fish.
Disease-causing microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, and other single-celled organisms, are referred to as pathogens, some, like Salmonella, cause human health problems.
While pesticides are designed to be toxic to certain organisms, they can often be harmful and kill other species in the marine system that are important for the entire ecosystem.