Every year, at the end of September, ChiTownBio hosts a beach cleanup event as part of The Alliance for the Great Lakes day of action. For the last few years, we have been assigned Osterman Beach, and we have led a group of volunteers in scouring the beach for trash and litter and collecting and removing that trash. At the same time, we discussed the importance of our native ecosystems and waterways, not just for the enjoyment of Chicagoans, but for the future of biotechnology.
At first glance, there might not seem to be a connection between our usual programming as a community biolab and a beach cleanup, but there are a number of reasons that this is well within our grassroots biotechnology goals.
First, we are a biology lab and organization, and understanding biology in all its forms is important. This means that ecology is a component of what we do, and keeping a healthy ecosystem around Chicago is something we want to encourage. A community lab does the projects that are important to our community, and many labs do environmental surveillance and observations as part of their work. Going out and observing Chicago’s shoreline, part of a natural migratory pathway for birds, is one of the best ways to experience some of the biodiversity of the area.
Biodiversity also plays a key part in another aspect of community biology labs. Community labs often have their roots in synthetic biology, a discipline that uses the diversity of molecular machines in nature to solve problems, whether they be medical, technical, or industrial. The science uses known genetic sequences from the natural world as a library of parts, or a recipe book we can use to cook up tiny factories and systems. Protecting biodiversity, and thus protecting the sources of this library is of utmost importance to the future of the field, not just in tropical rainforests and coral reefs, but in ecosystems like our city’s beautiful coast.
Science is often looked upon to solve society’s biggest problems, and often, we can only solve those problems by making sure the community is aware of them. The United States is one of the largest producers of plastic waste, much of that ending up in our waterways and on our coasts. This plastic breaks down into tiny pieces called microplastics and enters our drinking water, our food, and even our bodies. Plastic never truly degrades completely, which is a huge problem. Seeing the plastic waste on our beaches may help spur us to come up with solutions and strategies from within our lab, from playing with bacteria that can degrade plastics to other forms of bioremediation.
Lastly, it’s important to realize that while science can often save the day, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. There are problems facing our society right now, from microplastics to climate change to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and while we may be able to engineer solutions, we can help minimize the damage by starting to fight these battles right now through engagement, planning, and coordination. Helping clean up one beach may not be a solution, but it makes it clear that we are here to help.