September 18, 2008

coastal cleanup day


This Saturday, September 20, from 9 a.m. to noon is the 24th Annual California Coastal Cleanup Day. It is an impressive effort!

The official website tells me that this is "the premier volunteer event focused on the marine environment in the country. In 2007, more than 60,000 volunteers worked together to collect more than 900,000 pounds of trash and recyclables from our beaches, lakes, and waterways. California Coastal Cleanup Day has been hailed by the Guinness Book of World Records as "the largest garbage collection" (1993). Since the program started in 1985, over 800,000 Californians have removed more than 12 million pounds of debris from our state's shorelines and coast. When combined with the International Coastal Cleanup, organized by The Ocean Conservancy and taking place on the same day, California Coastal Cleanup Day becomes part of one of the largest volunteer events of the year."

The website also has some incredible pictures from last year's cleanup.

To find out how to participate call (800) COAST-4U or check their website. You can preregister for certain sites or drop-in at others. Not in California? Google to see if there is a coastal cleanup effort in your region.


1 comment:

mgb said...

Hi! I was out there running this morning and saw all the action. I made sure to thank the volunteers as I passed them. Some folks made it a family activity which is nice to see---get those kids aware and conscious early.