June 23, 2021 – Children often collect things at the beach – shells, rocks, driftwood – but it’s not as often that one sees them collecting trash that includes fishing line and other plastics, as well as a sand and sediment loaded tire.
But that’s what Tanner Jones, 10, and Emily Dampieta, 11, were doing during a beach visit with their grandparents at MalaCompra on Father’s Day.
“These two kids were trying to remove a tire with a little adult help,” said County Attorney Al Hadeed, who is himself a beach-frequenting environmentalist. He didn’t admit to whether or not he was the adult helping the youngsters wrestle the tire out of the water. “The tire was wedged in coquina rock on the shoreline.”
Once they wrangled the tire out of the waves, the children rolled it up the dune to the walkover mat so that Flagler County staff could more easily remove it from beach.
“These are some very environmentally-conscious kids protecting sea turtles by removing debris,” Hadeed said. “They set a great example for all of us to follow.”
Media Release: Flagler County, Julie Murphy, MPIO
