Watson Island Cleanup with Run Little Havana

On the morning of July 12, 2026, The International SeaKeepers Society partnered with Run Little Havana to host a shoreline cleanup near Jungle Island in Miami, concentrating specifically on the mangroves and surrounding parking lot. We were joined by 14 members of the Run Little Havana group, including staff and kind members of the Miami community brought together both by Run Little Havana and the want to help clean their local shorelines. We started our day with a site briefing by SeaKeepers Community Engagement Manager, Lillian, discussing the unique roles played by mangroves and why keeping them clean is critical. After our introduction our volunteers grabbed cleanup gear and set off around the surrounding area including the marina docks, the parking lot, and of course the mangroves that fill an entire side of Jungle Island. We were also extremely lucky to have been provided resources including refreshments and extra burlap sacks to use as trash bags by Panther Coffee. Their bags enabled us to remove a much greater amount of trash than we would have been able to otherwise, and we greatly appreciate their contribution to making Miami a cleaner place! By the end of the day, our amazing volunteers had removed more than 320 pounds of trash from the mangroves and marina, including an entire abandoned kayak left on the shore. We give an immense thank you to the teams of Run Little Havana and Panther Coffee for working with us to make a difference in our local communities, and we look forward to collaborating again very soon.