Bolles senior Diya Comar has founded Salt & Soul, an initiative focused on coastal awareness, water stewardship and public health education in Florida. Salt & Soul combines data, tools and local action to help people understand how the ocean’s health is directly connected to ours. Salt & Soul tangibly shows readers how small and informed choices can make a difference.
Comar grew up surfing in Jacksonville Beach. While she always cared about protecting the environment, her perspective changed after her experience in the Scripps Scholars program at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She saw the effects of pollution through hands-on field work and learned about the environmental impact of conservation efforts.
After the internship, Comar began thinking more about the environmental issues in Jacksonville. She said that people care about local beaches and waterways but don’t always know how to help.
“I wanted to create a place where people can learn about local issues, find volunteer opportunities and events and discover simple ways to get involved in protecting the places we all love,” she said.
After taking a Summer Environmental Sustainability program at the University of Florida, Comar gained a deeper understanding of how everyday choices impact the environment. The program helped inspire the idea behind her environmental advocacy platform, which has since grown into a multi-year project. Her time at Scripps taught her how to integrate environmental calculators and other interactive tools into the website. Comar is currently applying for microgrants and hopes to pursue EPA grant funding to support the website’s continued growth, expand its resources and reach a wider audience. She added the Water Footprint and Ocean Plastic Tracker to help people see the impact of daily habits and learn how they can make small changes to conserve water and reduce ocean pollution.
“My goal is for someone to read an article, understand why an issue matters and then leave knowing something tangible they can do to help,” Comar said.
Comar is excited to study the intersection of environmental science, public policy and global health when she attends college.
“My experiences in marine science have shown how closely our environment is connected to human health, while my work in advocacy has made me interested in what happens beyond the science — how research can shape policy, raise public awareness and create meaningful change,” she shared.
Comar started Salt & Soul because she realized that caring about an issue isn’t always enough to create lasting change. Salt & Soul is a place where education leads to action.
Subscribing to their quarterly newspaper is an excellent way to learn about environmental news and local volunteer opportunities.
Comar hopes Salt & Soul continues to grow and inspire readers to make an impact.
“If someone visits the site or reads the newsletter and walks away knowing a little more about the environment — or feeling inspired to get involved — then Salt & Soul is doing exactly what I created it to,” she said.
To learn more, go to saltandsoul.org.
