In celebration of National Beach Day, we are highlighting some of the many examples of Ringling College’s engagement with our coasts, from student clubs to volunteer opportunities and different major-driven projects.
Each year, the College’s Community Engaged Learning department organizes a beach cleanup event at Ted Spurling Park on South Lido Key. First-year students attend the beach cleanup as part of orientation. In spring, there is another opportunity for all students to join in on a campus-wide beach cleanup event.
Ringling College Film students have been working with local environmental and coastal ecology organizations to make a series of short documentaries. Over the summer, they worked with Oyster River Ecology, Mote Marine Laboratory’s Sea Turtle Conservation team, and Suncoast Urban Reforesters. Last year, students worked with Longboat Key Turtle Watch, Save Our Seabirds, and another Mote Marine Laboratory group.
The Motion Design department organizes an annual beach day, during which students bring drawing gear and sketch images from the beach, sketching wildlife and landscapes, and exercising their drawing and observation skills.
The Plein Air Club, one of the most popular student clubs on campus, regularly visits the beach to practice their drawing from life skills. Club member Fernando Aguirre ’26, Illustration, shared, “Painting at the beaches here is always a great time, especially with friends. You just get to have a nice chat and make some cool art together. I love looking at the water and have fun painting it as it is constantly changing and allows me to play with new techniques and color.” He said, “The Plein Air Club here at Ringling gives students this incredible experience every single week. We get to gather together, discover new locations, and maybe even make a new friend. It is always a blast.”
