Lakeside’s ‘Go Green’ group makes a ‘SPLASH’

Capt. Don Harris, first vice president and environmental educator for the Freeport-based Operation SPLASH, recently visited Levy-Lakeside Elementary School in Merrick. Operation SPLASH (Stop Polluting Littering and Save Harbors) is a non-profit, all–volunteer organization that focuses on improving quality of life on Long Island’s shores.

In an interactive and well-received presentation, Harris spoke about the effect that human behavior has had on the South Shore, encouraging the children to think about the silent victims of pollution –— the wildlife. Amid photographs of hawks, ducks, geese, swans, seals, fish, crabs and other marine life, pictures of dead waterfowl on the beach and schools of fish floating lifelessly amid trash were shown. All photos were taken within miles of the school.

The children were encouraged to be responsible for their actions. For example, they were asked to never let balloons ascend into the sky. Sea turtles have impaired vision because of venom from jellyfish and mistake balloons floating in the ocean as food, causing them choke and starve to death. The children were asked to dispose of trash properly. Harris stressed the concepts of reducing, reusing and recycling. The children were also encouraged to educate themselves about the environment and to become involved in protecting it. Everyone was invited to join SPLASH on a cleanup of local waterways or beaches.

Long Island was once world-renowned for its maritime industry, much of which has been decimated by pollution. Some waters off the Island no longer support marine life. Currently, much of the area’s edible marine life is contaminated such that humans cannot eat it without fear of illness.

Since its inception in 1990, Operation SPLASH has attempted to help solve the growing problem of pollution in the waters off Long Island through public-awareness campaigns, school-based educational programs and community action. SPLASH volunteers have collected more than 325