A movement of compassion, community action and environmental stewardship in the Upper Keys lives on in memory of the late Pascal Weisberger.
Saturday, Dec. 13 marks the monthly shoreline cleanup at Harry Harris Park in Tavernier, a place where Pascal worked to keep clean and beautiful. The bright student, animal lover, proud Boy Scout and environmental advocate tragically passed away in May 2020 at age 14.
Ari Poholek, Pascal’s father, said the idea for a monthly cleanup was inspired by the debris pickups a young Pascal initiated and participated during his six-plus years at Ocean Studies Charter School.
“He and I attended an international coastal cleanup day at Harry Harris Park in September 2012, after which Pascal asked the school principal if he and I could begin organizing school cleanups on a monthly basis,” Poholek said. “We started the next month and continued for at least nine to 10 months per year, from then until Pascal graduated from fifth grade in June 2017.”
Pascal remained involved in regular coastal cleanups with Boy Scout Troop 912. Most of his STEM fair projects were focused on research related to plastic pollution, determining whether there were more environmentally friendly alternatives to safeguard marine organisms.
Poholek said these efforts led Pascal to become more attentive to the plastic pollution threats to the environment. He protested the use of disposable plastic bags while providing testimony on the results of his research to the Key West City Commission, which in 2019 was considering local legislation to curtail single-use plastics in the city.
During the COVID shutdown in 2020, in March through early May, Pascal began working on what would have been his 2020-21 STEM fair project, investigating the reduction of local boating and fishing in the Keys and local plastic pollution levels. He conducted about a half dozen weekly shoreline surveys along the Harry Harris Park coast, with the intention of comparing the debris amounts and types during the shutdown to what was found afterward.
After his tragic passing, Pascal’s research was completed by his friends and fellow scouts in Troop 912, Aidan Austin, Zack Woltanski and Jordan Lubis. Many others also helped over a number of months, including their teachers Bobbi Burson and Martha Loizeaux.
The monthly Pascal’s Way volunteer cleanup is set for Saturday, Dec. 13 from 9 a.m. to noon at Harry Harris Park. Locals and visitors coming out for the debris pickup should bring gloves, reusable water bottle, hat and sunscreen. Trash bags, extra gloves and refreshments will be available.
