{"id":1705,"date":"2025-03-06T10:20:58","date_gmt":"2025-03-06T15:20:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/now\/?p=1705"},"modified":"2025-03-06T10:20:58","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T15:20:58","slug":"student-qa-love-blue-monmouth-president-katie-marshall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/now\/student-qa-love-blue-monmouth-president-katie-marshall\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Q&A: Love Blue Monmouth President Katie Marshall"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Love Blue Monmouth President Katie Marshall weighs a bag of trash removed from a beach. The club has collected about 1,800 pounds since 2021. <\/em> <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
Since its launch in 2021, Love Blue Monmouth has organized two dozen cleanups at local beaches. The student club\u2019s growth on campus was evident in its final event of the fall, when nearly 200 members of Monmouth University fraternities and sororities participated in a cleanup in Deal. We reached out to Love Blue Monmouth\u2019s president, marine and environmental biology and policy student Katie Marshall<\/strong>, to learn more about its work, recent activities, and what\u2019s next for the club. For details on upcoming cleanups, visit Love Blue Monmouth on Instagram at @lovebluemonmouth<\/a>.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

What is Love Blue Monmouth\u2019s mission?<\/h3>\n\n\n

Our mission is to empower the students that live along the coastal communities near Monmouth University to take action against the pollution crisis along our shorelines. As a student organization, we create opportunities for individuals from diverse backgrounds to unite in the common goal of protecting the environment. We are dedicated to preserving our natural resources and advocating for solutions to combat climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n

When we last checked in a year ago, Love Blue Monmouth had removed 921 pounds of trash from the beach in 15 events. What\u2019s that count up to today?<\/h3>\n\n\n

Since our last update<\/a>, Love Blue Monmouth has organized 10 cleanup events, removing a total of 850 pounds of trash from the shorelines with the help of 578 volunteers during the 2024 year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Students<\/figure>\n\n\n

After recent cleanups, you\u2019ve been sorting the trash to take counts of certain items that were picked up. Can you tell us about the data you\u2019re collecting and what you\u2019ve discovered so far?<\/h3>\n\n\n

We\u2019ve been collecting data on the types and amounts of trash we remove during our cleanups in order to better understand the environmental impact and identify patterns in the waste. By recording specific items, we can also raise awareness about the most common types of pollution along our shorelines. As we analyze this data, we\u2019re noticing that plastics and miscellaneous debris (like broken items or random trash) make up the bulk of what we\u2019re collecting. Everyday items like bottle caps, straws, and cans really highlight the ongoing pollution problem we\u2019re facing. We also come across some unexpected items, like shopping carts and beach chairs, which just shows how unpredictable the types of trash can be on our beaches.<\/p>\n\n\n

From your conversations with students, what do you think their main takeaways are from participating?<\/h3>\n\n\n

From speaking to students, the main takeaway is that they feel a sense of accomplishment knowing their efforts are having a real impact. They get a better understanding of climate change and why local policies matter when it comes to protecting the environment. We make sure the information we share is accurate and connects to what\u2019s actually going on with the fight against climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n

What\u2019s next for Love Blue Monmouth? Do you see Love Blue Monmouth holding cleanups that are open to non-students?<\/h3>\n\n\n
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Marshall helps a student empty trash collected using Garbo Grabber equipment donated to the club by the Urban Coast Institute. <\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My main priority right now is making sure our student volunteers stay safe. We also have limited supplies as a club, so we need to ensure we can properly support the students who are already involved. Moving forward, I would like to establish a consistent, regular schedule for cleanups that encourages widespread student participation. Once this is firmly in place, I hope to expand our efforts and invite more community members to join us in future cleanups.<\/p>\n\n\n

What are the best ways to support and get involved with your work?<\/h3>\n\n\n

The best way to support Love Blue Monmouth right now is by coming out to our cleanup events and helping us make a real impact. Spreading the word about what we\u2019re doing and raising awareness about the importance of keeping our environment clean is also key. Since we live so close to the beach and use it all the time, it\u2019s really important that we take action now to protect it and make sure it stays healthy for future generations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since its launch in 2021, Love Blue Monmouth has organized two dozen cleanups at local beaches. The student club\u2019s growth on campus was evident in its final event of the fall, when nearly 200 members of Monmouth University fraternities and sororities participated in a cleanup in Deal. We reached out to Love Blue Monmouth\u2019s president, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1705"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1705\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1708,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1705\/revisions\/1708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}