Beauty and the beach: Miss Earth USA participants finish mission trip in La Jolla
Miss Earth USA 2021 Marisa Butler (left) and Miss Teen Earth USA Katia Gerry observe sea lions July 25 in La Jolla as part of their pageant’s mission trip.
(Elisabeth Frausto)LaJollaLight.com - To further their environmental projects, several titleholders in the 2021 Miss Earth USA pageant gathered in La Jolla on July 25 to conclude a three-day mission trip in San Diego.
The day included a kayaking tour of the La Jolla coast and Miss Earth USA Marisa Butler leading a Leave No Trace workshop on outdoor ethics, certifying the participants for having completed the training.
The day also included a Sierra Club Seal Society of San Diego talk at the gazebo above the Children’s Pool, during which Seal Society docent Robyn Davidoff provided information to the women about the history of the Children’s Pool beach, the differences between seals and sea lions and the ways the Seal Society has acted to protect them. Davidoff then led the group to Point La Jolla to observe sea lions’ behavior.
Seal Society docent Robyn Davidoff explains the anatomy of harbor seals to Miss Earth USA participants.
(Elisabeth Frausto)During the mission trip, hosted by Butler, a North Park resident, the group worked with San Diego Canyonlands on July 23 to remove 26.5 pounds of invasive brown mustard plants and 16 pounds of trash from Manzanita Canyon in San Diego.
Later that afternoon, the group worked with Friends of Famosa Slough to remove brush to help prevent wildfires in the Point Loma wetland.
Miss Earth USA participants and members of We Clean Trails and Friends of Rose Creek removed 1,040 pounds of trash from the Rose Creek bike path on July 24.
(Courtesy of Marisa Butler)On July 24, the women worked with members of Friends of Rose Creek and Butler’s nonprofit We Clean Trails to remove 1,040 pounds of trash from the Rose Creek bike path, a cleanup that occurs bimonthly.
As the reigning titleholder of Miss Earth USA, an environmentally focused competition, Butler brought the yearly mission trip to various spots in her hometown to expose the participants to the local environmental organizations she works with.
“It’s just a really great thing to highlight this amazing environmental work here in San Diego and La Jolla,” Butler said.
To qualify for the trip, the women raised money for Miss Earth USA’s nonprofit section, Beauties for A Cause USA, to support environmental projects throughout the year, Butler said.
“Miss Earth is the only international pageant that is recognized by the [United Nations] for environmental work,” Butler said. “I’ll be representing the U.S. internationally this fall.”
The pageant so far has awarded Butler $5,000 in scholarships “to go toward my environmental projects” and helped her establish We Clean Trails, she said.
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