{"id":28074,"date":"2021-03-26T13:22:13","date_gmt":"2021-03-26T17:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=28074"},"modified":"2021-03-26T13:22:13","modified_gmt":"2021-03-26T17:22:13","slug":"preserving-our-wetlands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/preserving-our-wetlands\/","title":{"rendered":"Preserving Our Wetlands From Plastic Pollution"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-28076 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2021\/03\/WetlandsClub_DomeCleanup_11.19.20reresize-rotated-e1616773576902.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"399\" height=\"379\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2021\/03\/WetlandsClub_DomeCleanup_11.19.20reresize-rotated-e1616773576902.jpg 399w, https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2021\/03\/WetlandsClub_DomeCleanup_11.19.20reresize-rotated-e1616773576902-300x285.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2021\/03\/WetlandsClub_DomeCleanup_11.19.20reresize-rotated-e1616773576902-299x284.jpg 299w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 399px) 100vw, 399px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>If you have been to UCF\u2019s Orlando campus, chances are you have walked along the boardwalk through the Student Union Cypress Dome. You have also probably witnessed the fallout of graduation photoshoot confetti, or noticed the litter left behind by students. We all know plastic pollution is a problem, but did you know that plastics can be found at the microscopic level?<\/p>\n<p>Microplastics are less than 5 millimeters in length, and typically sourced from degraded larger plastic debris. Microplastics are nearly impossible to eliminate because of their size. The presence of microplastics in aquatic systems can not only damage macro-organisms \u2013 such as fish, amphibians, and birds \u2013 but can also disrupt highly sensitive biogeochemical cycles driven by microbial communities. Unfortunately, the accumulation of microplastics in the form of confetti and larger plastic litter has not only affected the Student Union Cypress Dome and caused the vegetation to lose its beauty, but it has the potential to sicken or drive away the fauna that call the cypress dome home.<\/p>\n<p>Biodiversity in an ecosystem is seriously impacted when pollution contaminates, and, as proud UCF Knights, it is our responsibility to protect and preserve our wetlands. So please:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Save your trash until you find the nearest receptacle.<\/li>\n<li>Opt for paper confetti (or none at all) when planning your graduation photo shoots.<\/li>\n<li>Volunteer for trash cleanups with Wetlands Club.<\/li>\n<li>Join the <a href=\"https:\/\/knightconnect.campuslabs.com\/engage\/organization\/TheWetlandsClub\">Wetlands Club @ UCF<\/a> to stay informed about the health of the cypress dome &amp; future dome cleanups!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; If you have been to UCF\u2019s Orlando campus, chances are you have walked along the boardwalk through the Student Union Cypress Dome. You have also probably witnessed the fallout of graduation photoshoot confetti, or noticed the litter left behind by students. We all know plastic pollution is a problem, but did you know that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":28076,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[6308,6307,3479,5924],"class_list":["post-28074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arboretum","tag-microplastics","tag-plastic-pollution","tag-ucf-arboretum","tag-wetlands"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Preserving Our Wetlands From Plastic Pollution - College of Sciences News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you have been to UCF\u2019s Orlando campus, chances are you have walked along the boardwalk through the Student Union Cypress Dome. You have also probably witnessed the fallout of graduation photoshoot confetti, or noticed the litter left behind by students. We all know plastic pollution is a problem, but did you know that plastics can be found at the microscopic level?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/preserving-our-wetlands\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Preserving Our Wetlands From Plastic Pollution - College of Sciences News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you have been to UCF\u2019s Orlando campus, chances are you have walked along the boardwalk through the Student Union Cypress Dome. You have also probably witnessed the fallout of graduation photoshoot confetti, or noticed the litter left behind by students. We all know plastic pollution is a problem, but did you know that plastics can be found at the microscopic level?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/preserving-our-wetlands\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"College of Sciences News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-26T17:22:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2021\/03\/WetlandsClub_DomeCleanup_11.19.20reresize-rotated-e1616773576902.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"399\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"379\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Marygrace Slebodnik\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Marygrace Slebodnik\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/preserving-our-wetlands\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/preserving-our-wetlands\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Marygrace Slebodnik\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1070d2973858bc3b272ee16416435a45\"},\"headline\":\"Preserving Our Wetlands From Plastic Pollution\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-26T17:22:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/preserving-our-wetlands\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":250,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/preserving-our-wetlands\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/29\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/WetlandsClub_DomeCleanup_11.19.20reresize-rotated-e1616773576902.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"microplastics\",\"plastic pollution\",\"UCF Arboretum\",\"wetlands\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Arboretum\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/preserving-our-wetlands\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/preserving-our-wetlands\\\/\",\"name\":\"Preserving Our Wetlands From Plastic Pollution - College of Sciences News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/preserving-our-wetlands\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/preserving-our-wetlands\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/29\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/WetlandsClub_DomeCleanup_11.19.20reresize-rotated-e1616773576902.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-26T17:22:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1070d2973858bc3b272ee16416435a45\"},\"description\":\"If you have been to UCF\u2019s Orlando campus, chances are you have walked along the boardwalk through the Student Union Cypress Dome. You have also probably witnessed the fallout of graduation photoshoot confetti, or noticed the litter left behind by students. We all know plastic pollution is a problem, but did you know that plastics can be found at the microscopic level?\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/preserving-our-wetlands\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/preserving-our-wetlands\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/29\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/WetlandsClub_DomeCleanup_11.19.20reresize-rotated-e1616773576902.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/29\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/WetlandsClub_DomeCleanup_11.19.20reresize-rotated-e1616773576902.jpg\",\"width\":399,\"height\":379,\"caption\":\"Group of volunteers wearing masks and standing behind several bags of collected trash during a cleanup event.\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"College of Sciences News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1070d2973858bc3b272ee16416435a45\",\"name\":\"Marygrace Slebodnik\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9c5c4f1749911e6d0ae8f5567ad9a49562d17859c79f6f9c2da44581b42f269c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9c5c4f1749911e6d0ae8f5567ad9a49562d17859c79f6f9c2da44581b42f269c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9c5c4f1749911e6d0ae8f5567ad9a49562d17859c79f6f9c2da44581b42f269c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Marygrace Slebodnik\"},\"url\":\"\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Preserving Our Wetlands From Plastic Pollution - College of Sciences News","description":"If you have been to UCF\u2019s Orlando campus, chances are you have walked along the boardwalk through the Student Union Cypress Dome. You have also probably witnessed the fallout of graduation photoshoot confetti, or noticed the litter left behind by students. We all know plastic pollution is a problem, but did you know that plastics can be found at the microscopic level?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/preserving-our-wetlands\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Preserving Our Wetlands From Plastic Pollution - College of Sciences News","og_description":"If you have been to UCF\u2019s Orlando campus, chances are you have walked along the boardwalk through the Student Union Cypress Dome. You have also probably witnessed the fallout of graduation photoshoot confetti, or noticed the litter left behind by students. We all know plastic pollution is a problem, but did you know that plastics can be found at the microscopic level?","og_url":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/preserving-our-wetlands\/","og_site_name":"College of Sciences News","article_published_time":"2021-03-26T17:22:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":399,"height":379,"url":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2021\/03\/WetlandsClub_DomeCleanup_11.19.20reresize-rotated-e1616773576902.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Marygrace Slebodnik","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Marygrace Slebodnik","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/preserving-our-wetlands\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/preserving-our-wetlands\/"},"author":{"name":"Marygrace Slebodnik","@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/1070d2973858bc3b272ee16416435a45"},"headline":"Preserving Our Wetlands From Plastic Pollution","datePublished":"2021-03-26T17:22:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/preserving-our-wetlands\/"},"wordCount":250,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/preserving-our-wetlands\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2021\/03\/WetlandsClub_DomeCleanup_11.19.20reresize-rotated-e1616773576902.jpg","keywords":["microplastics","plastic pollution","UCF Arboretum","wetlands"],"articleSection":["Arboretum"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/preserving-our-wetlands\/","url":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/preserving-our-wetlands\/","name":"Preserving Our Wetlands From Plastic Pollution - College of Sciences News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/preserving-our-wetlands\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/preserving-our-wetlands\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2021\/03\/WetlandsClub_DomeCleanup_11.19.20reresize-rotated-e1616773576902.jpg","datePublished":"2021-03-26T17:22:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/1070d2973858bc3b272ee16416435a45"},"description":"If you have been to UCF\u2019s Orlando campus, chances are you have walked along the boardwalk through the Student Union Cypress Dome. You have also probably witnessed the fallout of graduation photoshoot confetti, or noticed the litter left behind by students. We all know plastic pollution is a problem, but did you know that plastics can be found at the microscopic level?","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/preserving-our-wetlands\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/preserving-our-wetlands\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2021\/03\/WetlandsClub_DomeCleanup_11.19.20reresize-rotated-e1616773576902.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2021\/03\/WetlandsClub_DomeCleanup_11.19.20reresize-rotated-e1616773576902.jpg","width":399,"height":379,"caption":"Group of volunteers wearing masks and standing behind several bags of collected trash during a cleanup event."},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/","name":"College of Sciences News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/1070d2973858bc3b272ee16416435a45","name":"Marygrace Slebodnik","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9c5c4f1749911e6d0ae8f5567ad9a49562d17859c79f6f9c2da44581b42f269c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9c5c4f1749911e6d0ae8f5567ad9a49562d17859c79f6f9c2da44581b42f269c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9c5c4f1749911e6d0ae8f5567ad9a49562d17859c79f6f9c2da44581b42f269c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Marygrace Slebodnik"},"url":""}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28074"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28074\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28077,"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28074\/revisions\/28077"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}