Coastal Cleanup by Marj Law of Keep Wakulla County Beautiful

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Keep Wakulla County Beautiful’s (KWCB) portion of the International Coastal Cleanup is just around the corner!  On Saturday, September 16th, volunteers will congregate in Wakulla County to rid our shoreline, rivers and riverbanks, roads and low-lying areas of trash. 

Trash is harmful to us, as we can cut ourselves on scraps of metal and broken glass.  Birds and small animals may become entangled in trash, or they may try to eat small pieces of plastics.  This is why, once a year, the Ocean Conservancy leads us in a world-wide Coastal Cleanup.  Hundreds of thousands of volunteers come out on this special day in a mass effort to get rid of the trash endangering us and our environment.

In Wakulla County, at 8:30 in the morning,  KWCB Site Captains will be located at:

• the boat landing in St. Marks,

• the park by the bridge on Coastal Hwy 98 in Newport,

• Shell Point Beach,

• Wooley Park in Panacea, and

• Mashes sand boat landing parking lot.

We want you to arrive at sites from 8:30 a.m. until 9:30 a.m. on Saturday morning.

Divers may call Les Marshall at 926-9586. 

Site Captains will be waiting for volunteers with trash bags, gloves, data cards, pencils, and a place to clean.  Site captains will tell where to put the trash and used materials.  They will remain at the sites until 11:00 a.m.

At 11:00 a.m., Wooley Park in Panacea is the place for fun and food!  KWCB directors will give out commemorative t-shirts to the first 1100 volunteers.

And Yes!  We are having "Litter Loot"!  Ând, yes, Linda and Ray Boles have done it again for us!

Lincoln High School Civinettes - 2005		Hazel Robinson, Donna & Eddie Edward

What do we pick up?

We pick up all kinds of man-made materials, and we make a tally of what we find on data cards supplied to us from the Ocean Conservancy.  This information is analyzed.  It can change the way businesses package their goods to make them more earth-friendly.  Plant, tree parts, sea grasses and seaweed are part of our natural ecosystem and should not be collected.

Young clean up crew!		Winn-Dixie crew!

What do we wear/What do we bring to the cleanup?

Wear washable clothing like t-shirts and shorts.  Protect feet by wearing close-toed shoes like sneakers.  Don’t forget hat, sunscreen, and bug spray.  If you have your own gloves, bring them, but we’ll have some if you don’t.  A bottle of water is good too.  Cleaning up is hot business!

How do we know which site to come to?

If you have a group, call KWCB ahead of time at (850)926-0830.  We’ll work together to find a site suitable for your group.

Remember to have plenty of adults if you bring children.  They can move quickly! 

Litter Lasts.  Let’s get rid of it at the International Coastal Cleanup.

For more information, please call (850)926-0830.

This article originally published on September 10, 2006.

Written by :

mkwestmark

 

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