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Environmental Enlightenment and Commitment

Menunkatuck Audubon would like to thank Guilford High School’s Project Graduation for its decision not to sell helium balloons as a fundraiser this year. As an environmental organization that builds, monitors, and maintains dozens of osprey nesting platforms within the state, Menunkatuck is well aware of the dangers balloons and their ribbons pose to wildlife.

It is illegal to deliberately release helium balloons in Connecticut and many other states. This form of intentional litter eventually lands somewhere as trash. An accidental release of even a single balloon will have the same effect, however. In the ocean, a deflated balloon looks like a jellyfish, the favorite food of endangered sea turtles. Once eaten, a balloon will clog the turtle’s digestive tract and it will die. A deflated balloon on land poses a deadly hazard to birds and other wildlife that can become entangled in the ribbon. Ospreys are known to collect our carelessly discarded trash to line their nests, creating a deadly hazard for the chicks.

Released or escaped mylar balloons become yet another hazard when they come into contact with power lines and cause power outages. To learn more, visit menunkatuck.org and balloonsblow.org.

Menunkatuck Audubon congratulates this year’s graduates and thanks them for their environmental enlightenment and commitment to protecting the creatures with whom we share our planet. We hope that future classes will share your commitment.

Cindi Kobak, Director

Menunkatuck Audubon