The Chef Andrew Scholar Program is a paid internship for college students based in South Florida who are passionate about empowering their community to go zero-waste through outreach, education, and advocacy.

When I first transferred to the University of Miami during my sophomore year, I felt completely out of place. I had left behind the comfort of my previous school and stepped into a new city where I didn’t know a single person. Miami was vibrant and full of life, but I found it difficult to connect and struggled to build meaningful friendships. I wanted more than just to attend classes and pass exams—I wanted to feel like I belonged. I craved a sense of community, a way to get involved, and a deeper connection to the city I now called home. That search led me to Debris Free Oceans.

Joining DFO as a Chef Andrew Scholar completely changed my perspective on Miami. It wasn’t just an internship—it was the gateway to a community that quickly started to feel like family. I found people who cared about the same things I did and shared a passion for protecting our environment. I also found a space to grow both professionally and academically. Through my time with DFO, I learned about the scale of plastic pollution, what it means to live a truly zero-waste lifestyle, and how even small, local actions can contribute to global change.

More than anything, I discovered the power of community. Through beach cleanups, educational events, and day-to-day interactions, I saw how much can be accomplished when people come together with a shared purpose. I learned to speak publicly with confidence, to network at events with ease, and to communicate the importance of environmental action in a way that resonates with others. I also began to see the value in staying informed— understanding the science, keeping up with research, and using knowledge to guide our impact.

Now, when I walk through Miami, I no longer feel like an outsider. I see the neighborhoods we’ve cleaned, the people we’ve inspired, and the lasting connections we’ve built. I see a city that I’ve grown to love and a purpose that continues to guide me forward. My time as a Chef Andrew Scholar with Debris Free Oceans has helped shape my academic path, deepen my passion for sustainability, and most importantly, helped me find my place in this community. I am incredibly grateful and indebted to Amanda, Maddie, and Caiti for believing in me and helping me grow into the person I am today.

The Chef Andrew Scholar Program is a paid internship for college students based in South Florida who are passionate about empowering their community to go zero waste through education and outreach.

As I reflect on my journey as a Chef Andrew Scholar with Debris Free Oceans (DFO), many great things come to mind. As a curious and active individual, I have been able to learn and put my knowledge into practice through educational talks, beach and land cleanups, tabling events, and policy engagement activities.

When I began my training in August 2023, learning about microplastics and their effects on our environment and health was overwhelming. I was also concerned about how the educational talks would go since English is not my first language, and I had been in the country for only two years. However, this did not stop me from engaging with the material and, more importantly, transmitting this valuable information to my community. I became more confident with public speaking, and I am grateful to the DFO team for pushing me out of my comfort zone. I had never imagined myself leading cleanups with almost 150 students and having a successful day, but through DFO, I experienced it.

These ten months with DFO not only allowed me to raise awareness about the impact of plastic pollution in our communities but also helped me become a Miamian. I learned from my community, discovered places I had never been to before, and had the chance to meet incredible people.

I am grateful for the opportunity to advocate for our environment through this internship and for the amazing memories I created during this time. I want to recognize the role of the DFO staff in this fantastic experience. Thanks Bonnie, Bethany, Maddie, Caiti, and Amanda for all your support and guidance.

Throughout September and October, our collaborative programming will focus around 3 central goals: cleaning up our neighborhood for International Coastal Cleanup Day, working with local highschool students to teach them the ins and outs of sustainability consulting, and overseeing these students as they help Coconut Grove businesses to eliminate plastics. 

This initiative will include two coastal cleanups in Coconut Grove, one block party, and a series of sustainability consultations for businesses. 

Each cleanup will take place September 17th on International Coastal Cleanup day (one in the morning and one in the afternoon), and all cleanup attendees will receive a free limited-edition reusable stainless steel tumbler and a gift card to Grove businesses that make a plastic reduction pledge. To register for these cleanups, click  here. The block party will begin at 6pm after the afternoon cleanup, and the first ~150 attendees who take a personal plastic pollution pledge will receive the tumbler, which gets you a discount for a beverage at Barracuda’s. 

The business consultations will take place from mid September to late October, after Debris Free Oceans has trained high school students from Ransom Everglades and La Salle in business engagement. 

Why should your Coconut Grove business sign up? 

This is an amazing opportunity for businesses! Through this program, businesses will receive free marketing, free sustainability consulting, and a guaranteed increase in business (and guaranteed pride in helping to save our planet!). 

Your business will be promoted through Debris Free Oceans social media and newsletter (20k+ reach), Miami-Dade County’s Plastic Free 305 program, the Coconut Grove Business Improvement District, and news media coverage we receive. 

Another perk – the Coconut Grove BID will purchase gift cards from your business for distribution during our beach cleanups and provide you with free water-soluble carryout bags + reusable bento boxes to give to customers for to-go orders! 

The last and perhaps most inspiring aspect of this program is the opportunity to receive free sustainability consulting from Debris Free Oceans and work with youth from local high schools to eliminate plastics from your business. You will work directly with a DFO team member and students who have been trained in Sustainability Consulting and are Blue Grove Sustainability Consulting Scholars. 

Any businesses interested in registering should fill out this form. 

For any questions, please reach out to plasticfree@debrisfreeoceans.org

Why should students register for the Blue Grove Sustainability Consulting Scholars Program? 

We are partnering with two schools in Coconut Grove: Ransom Everglades and La Salle. These schools were selected because we wanted to engage our immediate community in the Grove. 

This is a unique opportunity for high schoolers to gain real world experience in such an important field while working with a leading nonprofit in the Plastic Pollution Space, DFO. This program will involve 1) two mandatory training sessions held at school, 2) accompanying DFO staff to visit and recruit businesses in the Grove during September and October, and 3) presenting findings at the end to showcase how many plastics you were able to eliminate from businesses. 

As high schoolers, it can be difficult to distinguish yourself from other students while applying for internships and colleges, and a program like this could help set you apart. Additionally, you will begin to meet people and build your network in the environmental space! Plus, you’ll be doing good for our local community and our global oceans.

Any students interested in registering should fill out this form.  

For any questions, please reach out to plasticfree@debrisfreeoceans.org

How does this program fit in with our mission? 

Here at DFO, our end goal is to work with a network of organizations and businesses to reach a place where all communities are free from all harmful debris. We have started in Miami by curating programs which prioritize community engagement with plastic pollution, empower individuals to make lifestyle changes reducing their single use plastic consumption, and educate people about the benefits of a circular economy where items are not thrown out immediately after use. We believe that change will be achieved by working at all levels of society: the youth, the general public, the business community, and the local government.

Our efforts have taken us all throughout Miami, organizing beach cleanups, educational events, and consulting businesses, but Coconut Grove is our home turf. It is where our offices are and our staff members live, which is why we are so excited to launch this new initiative with the Coconut Grove Business Improvement District and focus on our immediate community. 

We hope you all are as excited about this as we are, and that you come out to support our events, enroll your children in our Blue Grove Sustainability Scholars Program, and support the businesses we work with who are eliminating plastics from their business models. This is a community effort, and we couldn’t ask for a better community.

[Rescue a Reef, UM RSMAS]

[Rescue a Reef, UM RSMAS]

Smaller coral reef fragments have a higher growth rate. As coral grows in size, some of the energy used for its growth is stored for reproduction. So, the team continues fragmenting the coral into smaller pieces for more effective growth and replication in the nursery.

“By continuing to fragment the initially collected corals, increasing their growth rates, we’ve accumulated a large enough self-sustaining standing stock of healthy coral tissue to begin moving some to the reef!” —Maddie

When coral is removed from the nursery to be transplanted, it’s destination can be determined in one of two ways:

A: classical restoration— into degraded reefs that have declined from their historical levels of productivity

Or, B: progressive restoration— in reef habitats that may not have been advantageous in the past but are likely to be better suited under current and future conditions

Ultimately, establishing mature colonies is the ultimate goal. 

“Mature colonies are more effective in contributing to reef structure and repopulating the surrounding area.” —Dalton

Q: I have found that such hands-on intervention is often met with more skepticism. My parents always warned us kids never to touch the reefs because they’d die! Tell me a bit about the significance of restoring our reefs with keystone species. What would you say to an outsider that may be troubled by the thought of such “involved” work? What measures does your team take to ensure best practices?

According to Dalton, it’s critically important to acknowledge the need for conservation and restoration of coral reefs.

Locally, reefs protect our coastlines by absorbing wave energy. They also provide jobs through tourism, recreation, fisheries— ultimately contributing to food supply as well.

“The livelihoods of over one billion people are tied to coral reef ecosystems.” —Dalton

When scientists investigate the issues they’re facing, we can all better understand and work towards the solutions that restore them for the future.

“There are laws in place that [explicitly] protect coral species, so an everyday individual is not allowed to nor should they touch a coral.” —Dalton

The Rescue a Reef team takes extensive precautionary measures not to physically harm or communicate germs or bacteria when collecting fragments for coral gardening and out-planting. Unsupervised individuals are not advised to attempt any of the aforementioned procedures that may interfere with marine ecosystems.

Exclusively under the supervision of trained professionals, such as Rescue a Reef’s team of marine scientists, any citizen scientist can receive the necessary guidance to contribute to coral restoration and reef re-building during their hands-on programs.

Q: One big focus at DFO is education, and I know that Rescue a Reef also organizes a number of different events and offers services to increase scientific literacy and encourage individual responsibility. Tell me a bit about your approach to citizen science.

Rescue a Reef is an extension of the Benthic Ecology and Coral Reef Restoration Lab at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School. This program strives to (1) increase public understanding of coral reefs, (2) promote an understanding of the issues they’re facing, and (3) contribute to coral restoration through citizen science.

Beyond raising awareness, the team leads citizen science expeditions and creates an avenue for individuals to donate and directly support coral restoration research.

“Much like Debris Free Oceans, Rescue a Reef strives to involve individuals first-hand.” —Dalton

Because coral reef degradation is not something regularly accessible to the majority of us, these tangible recovery and restoration experiences are especially powerful.

Q: Tell me a bit about your favorite RAR x DFO collaboration.

“We collaborate with DFO because it’s going to take a village. We want to increase awareness on coral reef conservation, but also plastic consumption and single-use waste because overall the way to solve these issues is at the societal level – in reducing climate change.” —Dalton

Every year since our first collaboration, DFO and RAR have hosted events that enable everyday individuals to contribute to restoring local reef populations while cleaning up marine debris. By melding our missions and audiences, we’ve all learned and grown a great deal. These events foster an important sense of hope for the power of individual and community-driven impact. 

Unfortunately, it isn’t possible for the Rescue a Reef team to lead citizen science trips offshore everyday. One of Dalton’s most memorable community events was actually inspired by DFO’s mission and the research team’s experience with marine debris along the shoreline:

Rescue a Reef’s first cleanup hosted independently from DFO took place on International Coastal Cleanup Day. Despite the unfavorable weather, attendees came out in droves and collected hundreds of pounds from a small shoreline. This was a big moment for Dalton because “the individuals clearly followed Rescue a Reef devoutly, but had not been exposed to the local impacts of plastic pollution which have such an immediate impact upon coral reef ecosystems.”

Maddie noted that the latest Dive Day collaboration between DFO and RAR was attended by all women, so it was an empowering celebration of women in science! Everyone participated in out-planting corals at one location and then cleaning at the adjacent mooring buoy, which really brought the connection between the two missions full-circle!

Q: How can we all get involved in supporting Rescue a Reef?

“Everyone can be a coral champion from home!” —Maddie

Dalton suggests we look at our actions in the context of a “coral footprint” which closely parallels the concept of a carbon footprint. By reducing our plastic waste, opting for more plant-based meals, making use of public transportation … “essentially anything to reduce your carbon footprint at the individual level can go really far in protecting coral reef ecosystems!” — Dalton

These climate-conscious actions can reduce your “coral footprint” beyond your individual actions too! Bring this awareness into your workplace, among your peers and colleagues, within your municipality, and when advocating to public officials. Moving from individual change to systems-level advocacy can elevate our collective impact for the benefit of reef ecosystems.

You can also check out the Coral City Camera, streaming underwater serenity live for your enjoyment and appreciation— even when far from a coastline!

To learn more about Rescue a Reef outreach and coral restoration research, check out this video, @rescueareef on social media, and the RAR website: www.rescueareef.com.

Just as other plastics, cellulose acetate in cigarette butts will photodegrade (physically break down into tiny microplastic bits) but never biodegrade (chemically break down). As a result, the toxic material persists in the environment indefinitely after being littered.

This plastic is uniquely dangerous because it often contains trace amounts of the carcinogenic chemicals from the original cigarette. When the plastic additives, absorbed nicotine, and trace heavy metals (such as lead and arsenic) leach from cigarette butts, they become part of the chemical composition of the surrounding seawater. Once ingested by marine organisms, these microplastics bits pose physical and biochemical risks that can kill marine organisms and/or bioaccumulate throughout the food chain. These adverse effects also impact humans through seafood and drinking water contamination.

“Cigarette butts are a pervasive, toxic and recalcitrant type of marine litter that requires urgent attention from manufacturers, users, authorities and the public to prevent the ingestion of cigarette butts by biota and water pollution from its leachate.” [Environmental Research]

In recent years, traditional cigarette-smoking has been largely replaced by e-cigarettes. “The leading manufacturer, Juul, for example, saw its sales increase nearly sevenfold between 2014 and 2017.” Today, more than 10 million Americans use e-cigarettes.

E-cigarettes are considered hazardous waste and e-waste, have a bulkier plastic exterior, and are becoming a part of mainstream culture. These circumstances only increase the need for responsible management and policy intervention.

Richard Barnes of the University of California stresses the role that regulation should play in ensuring responsible management and mitigation of smoking-related waste. The concepts of “Precautionary Principle”—which states that environmental harm does not have to be proven to justify preventative intervention—and “Extended Producer Responsibility”—which asserts that those who produce a toxic waste product should be held accountable for its cleanup” have been effectively invoked to address concerning waste from other consumer products. [Tobacco Control]

Environmental, aesthetic, economic, and health-related concerns have motivated cigarette smoking bans in a number of public parks and beaches. The first ban of this kind was instituted for Hanauma Bay, Hawaii in 1993. Prohibitions on smoking led by grassroots efforts in Solana Beach, California and Sarasota, Florida have recently engaged a significant number of beach-goers and achieved reductions in coastal pollution. For nearly five years, Sarasota successfully enforced a ban on smoking at its beautiful white sand beaches. However, the preemption was overturned after a “a court decision found only the state could make such laws.”

These cases offer a glimpse at the growing support for cigarette pollution mitigation in coastal communities. Local stakeholders affected by existing bans have emphasized the importance of education and inclusion for municipalities to achieve positive results from similar policies. The general public should be educated on the impacts of cigarette smoking, and smokers’ rights should be upheld in the enforcement of any regulations.

A program similar to the ‘bottle bills’ that have encouraged public participation in responsible waste management through deposit-return systems could be effective for recycling cigarette waste. In Boston, creative receptacles that pose a poll question can be answered by dropping a cigarette butt into one of multiple openings. This has been effective in making the disposal process more engaging and attractive for smokers.

A compulsory take-back policy may also be implemented to reduce cigarette butt waste. This would require for cigarette producers to collect and manage the waste generated from the sale of their products, invoking the principle of Extended Producer Responsibility. The logistics for this type of policy could become very complex and result in inefficient implementation. Policy alternatives are difficult to assess before they have been tried and tested, so it’s important for governing bodies to draw lessons from one another throughout policy adoption and program execution.

Cigarette waste is among the most harmful forms of plastic marine debris. The DFO Team challenges you to abstain from smoking, educate those around you about the impacts of cigarette waste, and advocate for more proactive and preventative mitigation of marine debris. The Butt Stops Here!