Move over Ikea and Swedish meatballs. There’s a new Swedish fad that the U.S. is going kind of crazy over: plogging.

WHAT IT IS: It’s a fitness/environmental craze from Sweden. According to The Washington Post, the word is a mashup of jogging and “plocka upp” (which means “pick up” in Swedish). Basically, runners pick up litter as they run.

HOW IT GOT STARTED IN MIAMI: As far as we can tell, people here started talking about it when The Miami Herald reprinted that Washington Post story. Frankie Ruiz, Miami’s running guru, says he got at least 40 tags on Facebook about the piece and said although we do beach clean-ups in Miami all the time, “When was the last time we thought of clean-ups on our most beautiful streets and sidewalks?” Plus, most of the trash that ends up on our beaches and in our water originates on our streets.

Frankie decided to give it a try on Earth Day, and got a bunch of his Miami Marathon staff together on the Miami River. Thirty people showed up, The Wharf gave them some free drinks after the run, and it was a pretty great day. So he decided to expand his plogging mission to Brickell Run Club, which hosts group runs on Tuesday nights that bring out hundreds of people.

It’s an opportunity to “do what I’m always talking about, making Miami better through outdoor running activities. That’s it, real simple,” he says. “If the city is not going to pick up all the garbage, we, the people who make up the city, have to do our part.… There’s just too much garbage out there for the city to keep up with.”

SOUND LIKE YOUR IDEA OF FUN? HERE’S HOW TO JOIN: Plogging will be a monthly thing at Brickell Run Club, and tonight is the first plog run. Meet at 7 p.m. at the Fortune International Group building, 1300 Brickell Avenue. Bring your running shoes and they’ll provide the trash bags. And if you participate, you’ll be entered into a raffle for some cool running swag.

SQUATS FOR DAYS: There’s a lot of trash in our streets, which means you’ll be bending down – a lot. We may not have hills to run (other than the Rickenbacker Causeway) but now at least we have plogging.

IF BRICKELL’S NOT YOUR HOOD… Start your own plogging tradition! All you need is some trash bags, and Frankie says he’ll help anyone who wants to introduce it to their running crew. Just message Brickell Run Club on Facebook.

Plog with Brickell Run Club tonight at 7 p.m. at the Fortune International Group building, 1300 Brickell Avenue.

Lincoln Road is Miami’s pedestrian district, and it has evolved along with Miami Beach since the city was first mapped in 1912. It’s even included in the National Register of Historic Places.

Running from east to west between 16th and 17th streets, Lincoln Road has been a cultural hub for local artists since the 80s and is an example of design innovation through its architecture and landscapes in Miami. Morris Lapidus redesigned the area in the 1960s, modernizing it for pedestrians, because “a car never bought anything.” About 30,000 people visit Lincoln Road every day from October to May.

We are partnering with Lincoln Road Business Improvement District, and over the next couple months, we’ll be exploring Lincoln Road’s history, people and future.

We want to know how you do Lincoln Road.  Reply to this newsletter to tell us your favorite spot.

PRODUCED BY THE NEW TROPIC CREATIVE STUDIO WITH LINCOLN ROAD BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT

Coming to a town near you. After spending the past three months advocating for gun reform, students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High are spending their summer organizing a national voter registration tour. The March for our Lives: Road to Change tour starts June 15 in Chicago and will stop in more than 20 states. The tour will also target Florida, as the students plan to visit every congressional district in the state to register young voters. (Miami Herald)

Fingers crossed. The Florida Department of Transportation has officially requested a change to the times when the Brickell bridge is locked down. When the bridge goes up during rush hour, it’s basically a traffic apocalypse in the super dense neighborhood, and local officials, FDOT, and the Coast Guard have been trying to figure out a solution for years now – a tough task because the Coast Guard wants to keep boats moving, while folks on dry land want to keep cars moving. FDOT is asking the Coast Guard not to raise the bridge during morning and evening rush hour or during lunch time. Now it’s up to the Coast Guard to make the final call. (Miami Herald)

Some news that doesn’t suck. The town of Surfside approved a ban on plastic straws back in March and now environmental activists are hoping to use that momentum to get the city of Miami Beach to ban straws too. The city approved a partial ban on straws in 2012 but it only applies to vendors on the beach, not to the whole city. (Miami New Times)

Speaking of Miami Beach… As talk of Miami Beach annexing nearby North Bay Village continues, another group of residents is asking the city to give them a shot too. Residents on San Marco and Biscayne Islands– the two Venetian Islands that are technically part of the City of Miami– have circulated a petition asking the city to consider including them in Miami Beach’s boundaries. Why? More input in city affairs and better access to nearby city services. (RE:MiamiBeach)

Business is on 🔥. Nearly two years after a majority of Floridians legalized medical marijuana, the industry  is picking up steam. The state health department said the registration process for medical marijuana licenses has been reduced to about two weeks and Florida’s seen more than 5,000 new users every week. Still, only five companies have been authorized to open dispensaries and smoking medical weed is still technically banned under state law. (Miami Herald, Tampa Bay Times)

ONE MORE THING

If your co-worker brought in a big bag of lychees to work, or you’re looking to grow your own tree, here’s a short guide on where you can find ‘em and how to eat them. Happy snacking!

– The New Tropic