Saturday, September 1, 2012

Day 321 - August 31, 2012


lifeguard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA
trash collected for 20 min.
4.6 pounds
1,215.9 pounds total 

3 cigarette butts

0 plastic single-use water bottles!




Before I drop discarded sand toys into my bag, I check with the nearest family. As I stopped to inquire with one last night, a woman on their beach blanket asked,
"Do you belong to an organization? Is this your job or something?"
"No, it's just me," I said. "I do 20 minute beach cleanups because I want to." 
I went on to explain approximately how many pounds of trash I'd collected between the two lifeguard towers where she sat, that I wasn't the Julie and Julia of the beach cleanup world, that I purposefully wanted to be more relateable than that, and told her the name of this blog.
"Well, I for one thank you," she said.
A man overhearing our conversation next to her said, "I second that." 
"You're very welcome," I said as I smiled to myself and walked away.




String, balloons, plastic bags, rope and six pack rings make me think of marine entanglement. I love grabbing these items off the sand almost more than any other kind of trash I find. I reconnected with an old high school friend thanks to the wonder of Facebook. She lives in Sausalito where they have an incredibly successful Sea Lion and other pinipeds rescue organization,

Alison and her goddaughter had just gone to the release of their fostered Sea Lion. If I lived near Sausilito, I might take the family over there this beautiful last weekend of summer. 
Thanks to the world-wide-web the rest of us can click on over. 



The waves were 4 - 6 feet this morning. Labor Day last year also saw a big swell. Give your lifeguards an extra thanks and wave this weekend if you're heading out to the beach around LA. I hope most of them have the day off Tuesday so they can sleep.