Going green in East County

One new Palm Aire resident hopes to make waves among Manatee County residents who are concerned about the environment.

Mary Hampton, the self-proclaimed “Queen of Recycling,” is starting the Environmental Discussions Group of Manatee County. The inaugural meeting will be held from 2-4 p.m. April 30 at the Braden River Branch Library.

Hampton said the conversations and meetings she organizes are meant to educate herself and the community. 

“I recall when I was a youngster that the family would read the story of Rumplestiltskin and how the straw was getting woven into gold and I think it started there,” Hampton said of her love of recycling and overall care for the environment. That is when she realized what people might view as junk may be worth repurposing.

The retired home economics teacher from New York said she embraced recycling after it became “a little more vogue,” and actively seeks out second and third uses for materials.

For example, she takes food scraps to friends who have chickens who can eat them and she composts the rest. She purchases food with minimal or no wrapping and when she moved to her new home, she purchased furnishings from consignment shops.

“I don’t like waste, so I think this is something that can remind all of us what we’re handling and trying to handle it with a little more respect,” Hampton said.

This Manatee County discussion group won’t be her first environmental rodeo. When she first moved to Florida, she started an environmental discussion group in her new hometown of Seminole. The first topic she focused on was recycling. 

She ran that group for more than four years before starting another environmental group after she late moved to The Villages.

“My feeling is that I personally like to have it where citizens are meeting and working together in a positive fashion,” she said. “We need to work bipartisan on these topics and be these mature adults that I think we’re supposed to be.”

Hampton said her success with the groups comes from inviting experts to speak about their fields.

“It’s really been quite magnificent and quite encouraging,” she said.

For her new East County group, the first speaker will be Hunter Miller, the Florida Gulf Coast campaign organizer with Oceana, an ocean-conservation nonprofit organization aiming to influence legislators on ocean-related issues.

Miller will discuss off-shore drilling, saving sharks from the shark fin trade and ocean conservation laws.

“Those issues are big and on the federal level, but it really does affects us, especially on the Gulf Coast,” Miller said.

Miller said those who live in this area can find value in learning how to advocate for their nearby gulf waters so an event like the one Hampton is organizing is significant.

“Being near the coast, we all live here because we love the ocean and we love our fish and our dolphins. It’s a part of who we are,” he said.

He said there’s power when local towns pass non-binding resolutions to make voices heard in opposing offshore drilling.

Ultimately, Hampton said she hopes to inspire others to take action.

“I don’t intend or wish to be pointing a finger at anybody, but I’m hoping these meetings inspire people to do a little more,” she said, noting she appreciates the power of the community. “You never know exactly who you’re talking to.”

Miller said those who live in this area can find value in learning how to advocate for their nearby ocean waters so an event like the one Hampton is organizing is significant for the community.

“Being near the coast, we all live here because we love the ocean and we love our fish and our dolphins. It’s a part of who we are,” he said. 

He said there’s power when local towns pass non-binding resolutions to make voices heard in opposing offshore drilling. 

Ultimately, Hampton said she hopes to inspire others to take action.

“I don’t intend or wish to be pointing a finger at anybody, but I’m hoping these meetings inspire people to do a little more,” she said, noting she appreciates the power of the community. “You never know exactly who you’re talking to."