Reposted from the Spiritual Sunflower blog, originally posted on October 23rd, 2018
Hey everyone! It's a new week & a beautiful Tuesday!
Over fall break I took my first trip to a beach on the east coast of Florida, Cocoa Beach! This ended up working out amazingly well because I've followed an eco-friendly clothing brand known as TreeHuggerz on Instagram for over a year now, and they do beach clean ups normally on weekday evenings so I'm unable to make it.
It was an adventurous day, starting out in Lakeland and heading to Cape Canaveral to lay in the sun, finding a delicious local restaurant for dinner, meeting up with the TreeHuggerz crew in Cocoa for the cleanup, and ending the day with a delicious sorbet treat.
Cleaning the beach with TreeHuggerz
The morning red tide was discovered in Cocoa Beach was also the day of Treehuggerz’s weekly beach cleanup.
Red tide is a very serious, growing problem along the coasts. It occurs when harmful algae blooms rapidly on the surface of the water, discoloring it. Not all “red tides” are actually red, and some are invisible to the naked eye.
The harmful algae that causes these blooms comes from nutrient rich forest soil and various fertilizers and chemicals that was into the water. When the algae blooms out of control, it smothers the life below it, according to the Smithsonian.
“Kerenia brevis, common along the Florida coast of the Gulf of Mexico, produces a neurotoxin called brevetoxin that disrupts the firing of nerve cells,” said Danielle Hall, writer for the Smithsonian.
Any animal that inhales the toxins is affected. Mammals such as manatees and sea lions commonly wash ashore dead during red tide. When humans visit beaches while a toxic algae bloom is occurring it may smell bad, they may experience respiratory problems or get sick after.
“Beach closures become necessary and can cause significant losses for the tourism industry—the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates toxic algal blooms, which include red tides, account for the annual loss of roughly 82 million dollars in sales for restaurants, hotels, and other tourism industries within the United States,” Hall said.
Due to the adverse health effects of red tide, participants of the beach cleanup were provided with masks and gloves, and kept the cleanup under a hour. Even in such a short amount of time, some people were coughing at the end.
This made the beach cleanup Thursday more important than ever, and actually brought the biggest crowd yet to TreeHuggerz gatherings.
TreeHuggerz is an eco-friendly brand based in Cocoa Beach created by Bella Griffin. She raises awareness for taking care of the planet we live on, and loving one another for our time on it through organic clothing and unique, handmade jewelry.
According to Griffin, after the hurricane the ocean washed up an abundance of trash. There were hundreds of shoes, plastics and trash in general covering the beach. She remembers that touristy areas were even worse, and something needed to be done.
“I couldn’t walk past it anymore,” Griffin said.
Treehuggerz hosts a cleanup 2-3 time a month every month, and the plan is to keep this going for six months.
“My goal is to watch them grow and spread all over the coast of FL, attracting more and more people that want to change the world, start a movement and make an impact,” Griffin said.
After everyone’s finished cleaning the beach, Jenna Moffett rounded up the group for meditation. Moffett has influenced the cleanups in a very positive way by grounding participants afterwards. She burned incense and cleansing palo santo while talking the group through the relaxation exercise.
The TreeHuggerz beach cleanups take place on South 4th Street in Cocoa Beach, FL and everyone is invited.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read!
Remember tonight is the Hunter's full moon in Taurus. This zodiac sign is known for stability and growth, but because Venus is in retrograde until November 15, we will be experiencing the adverse affects of this celestial event.
During this full moon, you may experience...
difficulty expressing deep emotions - Taurus prefers not to dig deep
change, excitement and uncertainty in relationships - Venus in retrograde will push forward any relationship issues
Every full moon is a good opportunity to reexamine your life, as the celestial energy can stir up a storm. During this event, we'll be focused most on money and love. Taurus will encourage us to hold on to things, but the sun in Scorpio will show us what we need to get rid of.
Meditating with or keeping crystals on hand can help balance the energy of this eccentric moon. Emerald, selenite, pink opal and rhodonite are recommended ~
Don't forget to spend some time tonight embracing this full moon energy: lighting some incense, cleansing my place with sage or palo santo, and meditating with crystals is my favorite full moon practice.
Thank you for taking care of our home and joining me in this full moon’s magic!