Baynanza: Restoring Biscayne Bay's Beauty

On Saturday, April 23, thousands of people of all ages, races, and walks of life from the city of Miami united to protect the vital ecosystem that connects us all. Working tirelessly under the sun, volunteers cleaned and picked up thousands of pounds of litter from the living, breathing Biscayne Bay as they laughed, shared stories, connected, and celebrated Mother Earth.

Organized by the Division of Environmental Resources Management (DERM) and the Miami-Dade County Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources, Baynanza successfully highlighted the importance of preventing litter in our waterways and teaching people that trash is left on dry land eventually makes its way into the ocean. Volunteers have joined together in this tradition since 1982 where, in total, over one million pounds of trash have been picked up from Biscayne Bay’s shorelines.

“It’s amazing how much we’ve done in 40 years. We’ve done so much to protect the health and quality of the Biscayne Bay habitat. We’re here to celebrate picking up trash along the shorelines” – Director of Miami-Dade DERM, Lee Hefty.

Shake-A-Leg Miami is proud to be one of the host sites for this critical mission. Volunteers who came to our site were transported to the barrier islands right off the Coconut Grove Marina to ensure the health and safety of these critical ecological gems of Biscayne Bay. Soon, these small islands will be permeated with the sounds of joy and laughter as kids of all backgrounds will learn, cherish, and develop from the healing qualities of Biscayne Bay’s ecosystem.

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