I told some church friends I’d been picking up trash along the shore. They said, “No need—the waves will wash it away.” But I shared the truth: that trash breaks down, fish mistake it for food, sea plants suffer, and the whole ocean ecosystem pays the price. In the end, they understood. We all went out together to clean and gather seaweed, and we socialized.

I recently moved to Geoje, South Korea, and was shocked to find so much trash along the shore. It’s heartbreaking to see such a beautiful beach trashed like this. I've decided to clean it up bit by bit every day till it is all clean around here. It makes me so angry that people can be so careless with nature."

Firtirized garden