Calling all civic-minded folks, beach goers, nature lovers, sailors and volunteer groups!
Save the Sound, the Connecticut coordinator for the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), is looking for volunteers to join in a cleanup effort this fall. This year ICC is scheduled for Saturday, September 21, although additional beach cleanup days will be scheduled throughout September and October. Last year 2,450 volunteers participating in 57 cleanups along 58 miles of the Connecticut coast collected 16, 310 pounds of litter and debris.
ICC, created by the Ocean Conservancy, is now in its 28th year and boasts participation in all 55 U.S. states and territories and 100 countries around the world. It is a unique event in that all garbage that is picked up is tallied on data cards that Ocean Conservancy analyzes; they use this information to track trends in marine debris and help stop it at its source.
In addition to litter from the summer months, some sites on Connecticut’s shoreline still have debris from Hurricane Sandy, so we need lots of volunteers to help clean up all the material that would otherwise enter our oceans, polluting the water and harming its inhabitants.
Generous corporate partners are helping make this year’s cleanups possible. We would like to thank Staples for gift cards we will use to purchase supplies, and Promotional Pencils for providing customized Save the Sound pencils that our volunteers will use to fill out those data sheets.
Interested volunteers should check the CFE/Save the Sound calendar for listings of cleanups already scheduled for the fall (click “look for more”). Check back often, as more dates are still being added! You can also help spread the word by inviting friends to our Facebook event.
Questions? You can comment here, or email ICC intern Ally for more information.
Posted by Ally Schoenhorn, ICC intern, and Laura McMillan, director of communications for CFE/Save the Sound