Many locals clean up stray lighters, water bottles and potato chip bags they encounter left on the beach, but two Mattituck High School students went the extra mile and created something beautiful out of others’ trash.

Ninth graders and Girl Scout Troop 865 members Hannah Boyd and Remy Tryniszewska began their beach cleanup in May, collecting litter left behind by beachgoers at Mattituck’s Bailie Beach Park. 

The cleanup was part of their Girl Scout Silver Award Project titled “Marine Masterpieces,” wherein Hannah and Remy created artwork to raise awareness of the impact of litter on marine habitats and the environment.

“We decided to make our silver project helping clean the beaches and educating others because the beaches are such an important part of our lives — since we live very close to them,” Remy said. 

Every week, the two visited their hometown beach and discovered litter they then added to their artwork. 

“We thought we would run out of trash to find,” Hannah said. “But we kept going back and we just came back with huge hauls of trash. Like it never ran out.”

The girls worked with community members as well as teams from educational nonprofits UpSculpt, Atlantic Marine Conservation Society and Turtleback Environmental Education Center to complete their project.

“The Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, our entire mission is promoting marine conservation through action,” AMCS education and outreach coordinator Ellie Sywak said during the unveiling of the art projects at the Mattituck-Laurel Library, where the pieces will be displayed for the foreseeable future. “So, for Hannah and Remy to put all this time and effort into taking these actions to not only clean up their environment, but create something that will teach other people how to preserve their environment — we’re just so glad we could be a part of it.” 

UpSculpt director of education and community outreach Bri Sander thanked everyone for their joint effort in educating the community through art with “Marine Masterpieces.”

Some of the oddest items Hannah and Remy found on the beach during the cleanup included a child’s purple Croc, a lighter with a pickle on it, an Aquaphor tube, a Christmas ornament and a jack o-lantern light bulb. These items were used in the rainbow color wheel they created, which displays the variety of debris they discovered on the beach. 

“Try and spot these items along with some other interesting finds,” Hannah said, inviting library patrons to check out the color wheel. 

The second art piece, named “Willy the Whale,” was also constructed from debris left behind at the beach and represents the “circle of life in our waters,” Remy explained. 

Girl Scout Silver Award projects give cadettes “the chance to show [they] are a leader who is organized, determined and dedicated to improving [their] community,” according to the organization’s website.