{"id":280860,"date":"2026-05-22T14:08:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T14:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/280860\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T14:08:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T14:08:10","slug":"woman-starts-organization-to-clean-up-our-shorelines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/280860\/","title":{"rendered":"Woman starts organization to clean up our shorelines"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-598818\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Clean-This-Beach-Up-group-photo-m-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Woman starts organization to clean up our shorelines\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\"  \/>\u201cClean This Beach Up\u201d volunteers gather behind bags of trash collected.<\/p>\n<p>Seven years ago, MJ Algarra started an organization to tackle the problem of trash dumped along our area shorelines. Gathering more than 12,000 followers, she greatly increased the impact of her efforts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI founded \u2018Clean This Beach Up\u2019 on the belief that if one person can make a difference, collective effort can change the world,\u201d Algarra said. \u201cSince 2019, we\u2019ve removed over 125,000 pounds of trash from South Florida shorelines with the help of our volunteer community. This journey has shown us that individual action truly matters and when people come together, the impact becomes unstoppable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Besides organizing cleanups throughout Miami-Dade and Broward counties, from beaches and causeways to mangroves, reefs, and remote islands, they also seek to educate and inspire residents, visitors and businesses to move away from single-use plastics and become part of the solution.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRecently, much of our work has focused on removing discarded fishing gear \u2014 nets, lines, traps, and other equipment left behind in the marine environment,\u201d Algarra said. \u201cIn collaboration with Biscayne National Park, which began in 2023, our team has removed a total of 36,177 pounds of debris across 22 cleanups.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis year alone, we\u2019ve removed 16,234 pounds from these remote and uninhabited islands. These cleanups offer a clear glimpse into the reality of our oceans, as much of the debris is carried in by currents from around the world and washes up along our shores.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To celebrate the group\u2019s seven-year anniversary, it hosted a cleanup at the MacArthur Causeway, where 90 volunteers helped remove 2,076 pounds of debris. This location is one of Miami\u2019s most iconic landmarks, sitting directly in front of the Port of Miami, and since 2019, they have removed more than 42,000 pounds of trash from this causeway alone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEducation is also a key part of our work,\u201d she added. \u201cThrough our STEM Ocean Explorers program, we partner with schools to bring students directly to the shoreline for hands-on learning about ocean conservation, marine life, and the impacts of plastic pollution.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSince launching the program in January 2025, we\u2019ve engaged 285 students. To support our mission, we also collaborate with companies through corporate cleanups, helping them turn their corporate social responsibility goals into meaningful, hands-on impact.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To volunteer or to donate go to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cleanthisbeachup.org\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">www.cleanthisbeachup.org\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>ABOUT US:<\/p>\n<p>For more Miami community news, look no further than Miami Community Newspapers. This Miami online group of newspapers covers a variety of topics about the local community and beyond. Miami\u2019s Community Newspapers offers daily news, online resources, podcasts and other multimedia content to keep readers informed. With topics ranging from local news to community events, Miami\u2019s Community Newspapers is the ideal source for staying up to date with the latest news and happenings in the area.<\/p>\n<p>This family-owned media company publishes more than a dozen neighborhood publications, magazines, special sections on their websites, newsletters, as well as distributing them in print throughout Miami Dade County from Aventura, Sunny Isles Beach, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Brickell, Coconut Grove, Pinecrest, South Miami, Kendall, Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay and Homestead. Each online publication and print editions provide comprehensive coverage of local news, events, business updates, lifestyle features, and local initiatives within its respective community.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, the newspaper has exclusive Miami community podcasts, providing listeners with an in-depth look into Miami\u2019s culture. Whether you\u2019re looking for local Miami news, or podcasts, Miami\u2019s Community Newspapers has you covered. For more information, be sure to check out: <a href=\"https:\/\/communitynewspapers.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/communitynewspapers.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>If you have any questions, feel free to email <a href=\"https:\/\/communitynewspapers.com\/cutler-bay\/woman-starts-organization-to-clean-up-our-shorelines\/mailto:Michael@communitynewspapers.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Michael@communitynewspapers.com<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/communitynewspapers.com\/cutler-bay\/woman-starts-organization-to-clean-up-our-shorelines\/mailto:Grant@communitynewspapers.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Grant@communitynewspapers.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n    Connect To Your Customers &amp; Grow Your Business&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"link-button connect-customer-business\" href=\"https:\/\/communitynewspapers.com\/request-information\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Click Here<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776851487_240_Bugle-Boy.jpg\" scale=\"0\"\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cClean This Beach Up\u201d volunteers gather behind bags of trash collected. Seven years ago, MJ Algarra started an&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":280861,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-280860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=280860"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280860\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/280861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=280860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=280860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=280860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}