Eight-year-old Ryder Nadel has spent the last four years surveying local beaches for discarded items. A fisherman and surfer, his love for the ocean extends to all the creatures that call the water home. Thus, since age 4, Ryder and his father have spent endless hours roaming dunes and shorelines collecting the garbage that harms the marine animals Ryder loves.
Some of his finds are now on display in an exhibition at the East Hampton Town Marine Museum, where Ryder has been a camper in the summer program for the last three years. Stacy Myers, the museum’s program director, heard about Ryder’s collection and got in touch with him for a potential summertime display, titled “Found.”
Although discarded bottle caps and lighters are among the most common things that Ryder has found over the years, he has plenty of unexpected items that hide just under the surface. “There are these Ray-Bans,” Ryder said to a visitor. “We found them when my dad was swimming, and he saw this black thing. It was a black leather case, and these were inside of it.” He’s found signature hats, Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses, and fishing lures.
“I have many more at my house,” Ryder said.
During his surfing excursions, Ryder keeps an eye out for lost balloons, as they pose a danger to marine animals, who mistake them for food. At the museum, he has an extensive collection of balloons displayed against a blackboard.
Since beginning his trash-collecting journey, Ryder has learned a lot about marine biology and ocean life and how the wind and tides affect ocean debris. “If there is a gale, then we find it by the dunes, then if there’s no gale, we find it by the shore.”
Ryder said he loves throwing all the items into the back of the beach truck and driving everything home with his dad after a long day in the sun. He has accumulated a cornucopia of beach finds in his parents’ garage, so much so that he has upcycled much of it into toys and games. “I make stuff out of it in my garage. I made three boats, which I still have,” Ryder said. “I built a go-cart, which I destroyed. I found these wheels in my garage and put the railings on. I had to take it down a hill. Yeah, there is a lot of stuff in my garage. . . . My dad likes to build stuff.”
This museum exhibit is by no means the finale of Ryder’s trash-collecting journey, and he encouraged other people to do their part to clean up the oceans and beaches, suggesting that they donate to Team Seas, a nonprofit that raises money to support efforts by the Ocean Conservancy and the Ocean Cleanup to remove plastic and trash from oceans, rivers, and beaches. “Every dollar you donate to Team Seas is one pound of trash out of the ocean,” Ryder said.