Beverly's Florida Vacation Beach Cleanup

Community Count Collection: Beverly

location: Florida

day: 12 & 13 of 365

pounds collected: 5.06

total pounds collected to date: 119

Some of you who have been following The Daily Ocean may know that I invite people to collect trash off their local beach from anywhere in the world, and send me the information that I will then post on this blog, adding to the Community Count Collection Tally.

The 20 minute beach cleanup that I do can be done anywhere, that's part of the reason why I designed my project this way. If you feel inspired to action my reading The Daily Ocean then my hope is that you will take that enthusiasm out into your own community. When people see you collecting trash off the beach:

1. It may inspire others to do the same.

2. Which in turn will spark their curiosity to learn more about the problem of Marine Plastic Pollution, and trash clogging our beaches and oceans.

3. Lets you see first hand that many of the same items that we buy as part of our TO GO lifestyle, end up in the ocean and are ruining the marine ecosystems.

4. This first hand interaction with the huge problem of Plastic Marine Pollution, as my friends Anna Cummins and Dr. Marcus Eriksen describe it, lets you make more informed choices in your life to change from a throw away life style, to a sustainable one.

Remember, "When you throw something away, there is no "away"."

- David Bach, Author

One person who has taken to the idea of collecting trash off the beach for 20 min. is my friend Beverly who I met when she contacted me through this blog.

This is the 2nd time she has taken valuable vacation time to meticulously weigh, photograph and write about the trash she is finding on the beaches she visits.

Last summer we got a detailed account about her trip to Rhode Island, and this January we get to follow her as she explores, cleans, and spreads awareness during her Florida vacation.

I can't thank her enough. Every time I get one of her well thought out, beautiful, cohesive email attachments with text and pictures to post I think my heart swells a size. So thank you Beverly. You inspire me, and I know you will inspire those that will read your post below.

I'd like to mention a big thank you to Surfrider!

Beverly knows that I am a member of Surfrider here in California, and so before she visits her next coastal vacation spot, she looks up the local Surfrider Chapter for information. Every time she has done this they have provided her with a list of beaches, supplies, local information and support.

Surfrider works as a grassroots, community organization all over the world. It is just awesome to see her making these connections, so thanks again to the local Florida Surfrider Chapters that helped Beverly.

The Daily Ocean – Florida Beach Cleanup – 1/18/10

St. Lucie County, Florida – South Hutchinson Island
Waveland Beach and Walton Rocks Beach

South Hutchinson Island, part of Florida’s Treasure Coast, has a long stretch of beach that’s a pleasure to surfers, fishermen and beachgoers. I’m here this week and once again taking some time for beach cleanup while I’m on vacation. The local Treasure Coast SurfRider group recommended a number of beaches to visit and today I write about the first two. More to come later this week.

Waveland Beach (2 lb.s, 1 oz. collected)

Waveland Beach is just a mile north of the St. Lucie county line, and is a guarded beach. Florida’s just warming up from her record cold spell, it’s a windy day, and the waves are rough and crashing – even the surfers are in today. This is a very clean beach, and as I walk along I find some pieces of plastic here and there but mostly natural items – a coconut and lots of shells. Pelicans are flying overhead, and sandpipers are running toward and then away from the waves. A crab scuttles along.

On the beach there dead fish are washed up every few feet, some fairly large. The birds are not touching them. It’s an uncomfortable sight. As I leave I ask a lifeguard, “Why are there so many dead fish?”, and he answers, “The water got so cold the past few weeks they couldn’t survive.” I ask, “Why aren’t the birds eating them?”. “They have been but there’s just too many.”

I walk back to my car and weigh what I’ve collected – 2 lbs., 1 oz. on this clean and windy beach.

Beach Cleanup Sighting from Balcony

I’m lucky enough to be right on the beach this week and I spend a lot of time looking at the beach from my balcony. This morning I spotted a couple walking along the beach with plastic bags, bending down every few feet to pick something up. I recognized what they were doing immediately.

“There are people doing beach cleanup out there!” I cried. “I’m getting my camera!”. I watched them for a few minutes and snapped a picture.

It was really nice to see someone picking up trash along a beach. I don’t know who the couple are, or how often they do beach cleanup, but if they’re responsible for the clean beach outside my balcony, I thank them for what they’ve done.

Walton Rocks Beach (3.0 lbs. collected)

Walton Rocks Beach is further north from Waveland Beach, and is a dog-friendly beach. I drive in along a smooth dirt road and wind around to the parking lot. The wind’s died down a bit today and there are cars and trucks in this lot. Surfers and families with dogs are heading to the beach.

This is not a guarded beach, and fishing is allowed. Today there’s more activity along the beach – the sun is shining and it’s warming up. Surfers and some swimmers are in the water, and people are sitting in the sun with their dogs. Farther up, fishermen are casting their nets into the surf.



This beach is also fairly clean, and there’s lots of sea life washed up on shore – a few fish here and there as well as crabs and a starfish. Lots of shells. I find a huge net with shells tangled in – too big to haul away. I pick up pieces of plastic, net and some plastic bottles as I walk along.

I wouldn’t mind returning to this beach; everyone was enjoying themselves on this first warm beach day in awhile – including the dogs. Walton Rocks Beach is a beautiful beach and a beautiful walk along the shore. In the end I collected 3.0 lbs. of trash.

Team Marine of Santa Monica High

I have the privilege of working with Team Marine of Santa Monica High School. They made these incredible shirts for this year's 09'-10' team. I got one with my name on it, which made me feel very honored, (and so did my husband Garen, thank you.)

But also check out their copy righted list of 10 Re-Thinks. Are these guys smart, or what? They inspire me constantly and are always impressing me with their in depth knowledge. Thank you Team Marine, you are the best!!

By the way Val, your turtle is so beautiful! What a cool design. You're a very talented artist.

Day 91 - Jan. 21, 2010

life guard station 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

estimated pounds of trash collected today - 3.3

estimated pounds of trash collected to date - 382.8
There was a break in the week long storm front that has rolled over us here in southern California, so I headed to the beach to see what had washed up, and what had been uncovered.

This little yellow bug is a cute find, but still plastic left on the beach...

Kite Surfing inbetween thunderstorms takes the term "Extreme Sport" to a whole new level.

My neighbor Marvin is an avid surfer who I routinely see tying his board up to go out to Topanga, but when I saw him the other morning he made the point of telling me that he will not go into the water for a whole week after it rains in LA. In fact, he thinks people that only wait the recommended 72 hour limit are taking too much of a risk.

What's the problem?

Bacteria levels (fecal matter), and viruses wash into the water from run-off and storm drains causing stomach flu symptoms, ear, nose, and throat infections, and plenty of variations there of. WOW.

Well the Teach and Test Club at Santa Monica High School which is co-sponsored by Heal the Bay and Surfrider test the water quality in the Santa Monica Bay. Check out their site here.
My fellow local activist and blogger Whitney of Eco-Vegan Gal sent me a link to a recent post that talks about how she has invested in a handy tool called the Gopher to help her collect trash as she walks her dog in Venice. Find her post here. Thank you Whitney!
I'd like to direct you to a blog that I really like attached to the website for Wallace J Nichols who is an accomplished Scientist, Activist, and Author among many other things. His website is a great resource for Ocean Lover's as you will see by clicking here
We've had hail, pelting rain, lightning and thunder for the last week off and on, and I have to admit that I love the variation in weather. What I don't love is the trash that washes off our 90% concrete cityscape that is Los Angeles. But I guess that is why I started this project in the first place. Love the ocean, not what is happening to it.

Day 90 - Jan.19, 2010

life guard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

estimated pounds of trash collected today - 7.5

estimated pounds of trash collected to date - 379.5

As you can see, the beach was very windy when I arrived. I collected trash for 20 minutes, but did not make it all the way to the life guard tower 28, which is my turn around marker.

Why? Because it has been raining in LA, and so the beach is stuffed with trash. Trash that has been uncovered by the wind that was buried under the sand, and trash that has washed up on the shore from Santa Monica Bay.
I usually link a bunch of articles, or organizations in my posts, but today I would like to talk a little bit about The Daily Ocean. Recently I was interviewed for an inspiring blog called Planet Connect, and since I am not practiced at being interviewed, so I realized after the fact that I could have clarified and stressed the message that I am trying to send with this project better.

Here is an attempt to remedy that:

I chased a sea gull away from this ball while it was eating the fuzz off.

WHY DO I DO BEACH CLEANUPS IF THEY ARE NOT THE MOST EFFECTIVE SOLUTION?

I collect trash from the beach for a small amount of time, in the same designated location, (my "backyard" beach if you will), to illustrate the point that there is a lot of crap littering our beaches!

It is not just a problem in places like the North Pacific Trash Gyre, the problem starts right here, where I live, where you live. 80% of the Marine Plastic Pollution that ends up in the ocean is blown in from the land. SO....

If you can see it by going to the beach yourself, picking it up, or by looking at my pictures, I am hoping that you will see the tragic fact that we are polluting our precious marine eco-systems with trash that is as mundane as a Cheezit's Bag, or an M&M wrapper, or tennis balls....plastic bottle cap lids, cigarette butts...the list is long, but PREVENTABLE.

* however, many of these seemingly inert pieces of trash are made of plastic, which turns out to leach toxins into the water, break down into smaller and smaller pieces that get into the marine food chain and back to us, and kill 100's of 1,000's of marine animals each year. Just to name a few of the problems from trashing our oceans.....

SO IF BEACH CLEANUPS AREN'T THE ONLY SOLUTION, WHAT DO WE DO?

I collect from the beach to illustrate how much trash is out there, even on a beach in a very environmentally minded city like Santa Monica, and on a beach that is racked for trash daily, and has on average 15 trash cans lined up between life guard towers.....I still found 7.5 pounds of trash yesterday in 20 MINUTES.

I use a beach cleanup as a vehicle to show the problem in a tangible way. I encourage participation in cleanups because I have found that it helps me to pick up a water bottle, or food wrapper and ask myself next time I am hungry or thirsty,

"Do I need to buy a Single Use Plastic wrapped product? It will end up in a land fill, or in the ocean. I just picked one up off the beach the other day! Could I just make it home instead and remember my reusable water bottle next time?"

In brings an awareness that your life style choices make an impact to see these items littering the beach first hand. Like I said above, the problem is no longer floating in some far away gyre, it is right in your hand.

OK - SOLUTIONS: If recovery at sea is impractical for many reasons, and one of the most obvious being that to sail out into all the world's gyres would leave a huge carbon footprint, then, as was said by - Dr. Marcus Eriksen, of Algalita, Livable Legacy, 5gyres

"The idea of "Recovery" begins and ends on land."

One organization I will mention that I like very much is the PLASTIC POLLUTION COALITION. Who, the other day, had an email discussion about changes to support that make a real difference in terms of Plastic Pollution, especially in the Marine environment. I'll pass some of them on below:

1. REFUSE Single Use Plastics. Sign their S.U.P.E.R. Pledge (Single Use Plastic Emergency Response)

Example - bring your own reusable shopping bag to the market. Do you really need a handy little plastic bag for those apples you'll wash anyway? If you want, go to Beth Terry's blog where she chronicles her two plus years of, "LIVING LIFE WITH LESS PLASTIC" on her blog Fake Plastic Fish. She brings organic cotton produce bags with her to the market.

2. ECONOMIC INCENTIVES PER PRODUCT: Another solution promoted by the PPC, and Dr. Eriksen explains it well here:

"One solution we advocate is an economic incentives to recover plastic waste on land. A post-consumer value, let's say 25cents/pound for mixed plastics, would keep the waste off the land, beaches, roadsides, out of trees and watersheds.

Improving recovery is key to solving this problem. Economic incentives per product (EPR) or per pound would work. Bring back the school paper drive, but for plastic. Recovery is essential, but it doesn't happen at sea."

3. Ban Single Use Plastics ( SUP ) - Get involved at the local level and promote the ban of single use plastic bags for example. Team Marine (a local environmental group of high school activists) is circulating an online petition to get our city of Santa Monica to mobilize the ban of plastic bags.

Learn about local hearings on topics like these being held in your area. Attend and comment when they allow Public Comment. The local/state politicians who hold these meetings want to know what you think.

Finally, here is a comment left on a previous post of The Daily Ocean by Dan of NEEF (National Environmental Education Foundation) who is in Washington D.C.. He talks about the successful implementation of a $.05 TAX on Plastic Bags in D.C.:

"Our plastic bag tax in Washington DC has made a major difference. NO ONE takes bags anymore at grocery stores, CVS, Target, etc. It's only $.05, but they're not out anymore. It's only been two weeks since it was enacted, but it's night and day here. I will hope to remember to report back when we get some stats from the city on the reduction in plastic bag usage. Downside - I am running out of my dog poop clean up supply."

These were just a few suggestions. I'd like to hear more from you. Leave me a comment if you'd like to share.

The problem of Marine Plastic Pollution is HUGE, but there are solutions. They require work, some personal sacrifice to change our life style, perhaps the donation of your time/energy to get involved in local government, or by belonging to an environmental organization that you believe is working towards these solutions.

But the more I learn about this issue, the more I feel like now that I know, this knowledge has become my responsibility to act. At this point, for me, it would be way more painful to not take action, than to start to be part of the solution. I hope that The Daily Ocean inspires you to do the same in your life.

Day 89 - Jan. 14

life guard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

est. lbs. of trash today - 2.3 pounds

est. lbs. of trash to date - 372

While walking out at sunset last night, I thought to myself, "I live here!" Pretty happy about that. Paid my dues for YEARS living through North Eastern winters. Always thought it would have been less torturous if I liked to ski....but alas, I prefer body surfing. In the right place at last.
Well, SAVE OUR SHORES, up in Santa Cruz confirms what I always think to be the case.

PLASTIC is by far the number one material picked up on their beaches. They keep track of EVERYTHING they collect, much like the HEAL THE BAY MARINE DATA BASE that is done by our local Santa Monica non-profit organization. But don't take my word for it, here's a link to the post that SAVE OUR SHORES BLOG, INTO THE BLUE, says.
Does this look like a beach that you should be afraid to swim at for health reasons? No. But it is the beach where the sign below, posted by the California Department of Public Health, put up their sign warning swimmers of the dangers of swimming near/in water from Storm Drains. I'd forgotten that it rained in LA this week, until I walked up to this sign. Can you say bummer?
But to leave you on a funny note, PLEASE WATCH THIS YOUTUBE VIDEO. The three and a half minutes spent doing so will be worth it. Oh, it's relevant to reusable bags, and FIGHTING PLASTIC!!

Day 88 - Jan 10, 2010

Beach - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

estimated pounds collected today - 1.5

estimated pounds collected to date - 369.8

Grateful that I have put parameters on collecting for The Daily Ocean that allow me to be imperfect, I finally got out to the beach today. My head is so fully engaged in editing my book for this weeks deadline, that I forgot to take a picture of Life Guard Tower 26! Feels very strange to start a post without a picture of 26. Oh well, three cheers for imperfection.
Take out. My husband Garen said that Urth Cafe used to use recycled, and biodegradable plastic alternative packaging and cutlery for their take out. Well, they don't anymore.

Even if the place that I am getting my "to go" lunch from is a fairly responsible, organic coffee selling establishment (like Urth Cafe), when the containers fall on the beach, it is still liter.

Think I'll still ask Urth Cafe to switch back to more responsible containers, even though when cutlery made from cornstarch, or other plastic alternatives ends up in the ocean, it doesn't biodegrade.

Solution - bring your own reusable alternatives. Feel silly taking a Tupperware container to the cafe? Well, the alternatives for now, just aren't there.
Sea Gulls love picking at food left on packaging. Searching for a free meal, they leave trash strewn all over the beach to drift into the water. The picture above is of the contents from the Urth Cafe Bag that started off in the trash can.
We are trying to ban single use plastic bags in Santa Monica. Sign our petition please by clicking HERE.

As Megan Kilroy of Santa Monica High School's Team Marine reminded me in her email yesterday,

"Every year the USA throws away 100 billion plastic bags with less than 5% getting recycled. Plastic bags are the leading contributor to marine debris with over 100,000 marine mammals and sea birds dying every year due to either consuming our becoming entangled in plastic."
The Daily Ocean has been written up in the blog, PLANET CONNECT written by Philipe Cousteau for NEEF, the National Environmental Education Foundation.

I'm thrilled! Thanks so much for your interest. Here is a link to their blog. And NEEF's website.

Day 87 - Jan. 5 2010

life guard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

estimated pounds collected today - 1.5 lbs.

estimated pounds collected to date - 368.37

community count day 11

trash collected for 20 minutes by Nancy Grass-Hemmert

estimated pounds collected today - 1 lbs.

estimated pounds collected to date - 113.9
Our friend Nancy came out with me today. She has made a goal to come every Tues. this semester. I think that is great, and it helps me stay accountable. Working alone, which I do now, whether it is writing or blogging can lead to tiny roadblocks of procrastination. It not only helps our beach, but it helps me to be motivated when I go out to collect with someone else. Thank you Nancy!
I know one of the people who started the site KISS MY COUNTRY, which is just the coolest blog. They interview people who are changing the world and ask them to talk about some of their favorite places. Kind of helps us remember why we care, and maybe why we do what we do.

Their latest interview is my fellow blogger and activist Beth Terry, who writes the blog Fake Plastic Fish. I have included a link to a YouTube video of her.

She said something in her interview with Kiss My Country that I totally agree with and will quote again here.

" People don’t want to feel bad about how they live – I remember how I lived. You have to reach people where they are.” - Beth Terry

Like Beth's amazing YouTube video says, Plastic is a Problem. I have some other friends who are sailing towards the Sargasso Sea to research the North Atlantic Trash Gyre. Yup. Did you know that there is a gyre, (or two), in every ocean? I didn't.

Anna and Marcus will be sailing there, stopping in Bermuda and then traveling to the Azores. They are so inspiring. Please visit their 5gyres site for a wealth of information, and inspiration.

"UNDERSTANDING PLASTIC MARINE POLLUTION THROUGH EXPLORATION, EDUCATION AND ACTION" - 5gyres website

Daniel, of the organization NEEF ( National Environmental Education Foundation ) emailed me, (you can too, thedailyocean@yahoo.com). He has an event coming up that I would like to share with you. National Public Lands Day.

NPLD is the nation's largest hands-on volunteer effort to improve and enhance the public lands Americans enjoy. In 2009, 150,000 volunteers built trails and bridges, removed trash and invasive plants, planted trees and restored our water resources. Join us for the next NPLD on September 25, 2010.

Sometimes the environmental problems we face feel so big that it can be overwhelming. I think that many people feel like just throwing their hands up, or ignoring the problems. I know that as much as I care about the ocean, I did for a while until I realized that even if the odds feel stacked against us, I promise you that action feels a lot better than inaction. I've discovered that I prefer to do something with what I know, but I believe that each person has to get there in their own time, in their own way. Whether it is following Beth Terry's lead and reducing the amount of personal plastic consumption, picking up trash off the beach, or in Anna and Marcus's case sailing into the Sargasso Sea to investigate Plastic Marine Pollution first hand, start somewhere. Do what you can, when you can. If everyone did, think about the difference we could make.

Day 86 - JAN. 1, 2010

life guard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

estimated pounds of trash collected today - .93 lbs.

estimated pounds of trash collected to date - 367.87 lbs.

community count - 5 people

day 10 - 355 days to go

collected trash for 20 minutes

estimated pounds of trash collected - 3 lbs.

total pounds of trash collected to date - 112.9 lbs.
I got an email from friends of ours early on Jan. 1st saying that the whole family wanted to come out and collect trash with me today. Adam, who is 18 and a freshman at American University in Washington D.C., came home wanting his family to do some volunteer work together during the holiday. They thought of the Daily Ocean, and I was happy they did. I thought it was a great way to kick off 2010.
This is Adam in shadow profile out on the beach. He collected apprrox. .37 lbs. of trash in 20 minutes.

Someone didn't make the resolution to quit smoking in 2010.

Team Marine went out and did some plastic trash collecting at the Pico Kenter storm drain just north of tower 26. They counted the different items they found, measured off a portion of the tideline around the stagnant water leaving the storm drain, and spent 25 minutes doing it. I volunteer with this group of high school students from SAMOHI and they do amazing things. Check out their post here.
This is Sarah collecting trash. Several times she commented on how many cigarette butts she was finding. Adam also said the same thing, and added that he thought smoking was illegal on the beach. I told him it was, but that Santa Monica is at the end of the storm drains that lead all the way from Los Angeles where lots of cig. butts fall in from the streets. But as you can see from the picture above, the cigarette butts get left right on the beach too.
This is Deirdre's collection at the end of 20 minutes. She also collected approx. .37 lbs. of trash in 20 minutes.

Our group - Sarah - Deirdre - Nancy - Adam - Garen

As always, the colors from a Pacific Sunset never cease to dazzle. Today, any building facing west was lit on fire in the setting sun.

Day 85 - Dec. 28

life guard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

estimated pounds of trash collected today - 1.10

estimated pounds of trash collected to date - 366.15
A cold, wintery beach here in Santa Monica where the sun sets around 5 p.m.. It is still wonderful to be out on the beach. I've been enjoying my vacation at home playing cards, eating, sleeping, and writing. It feels good to be in the quiet, hibernating mode of the season.
A baby wipe? A household cleaning rag? Who knows, tough on dirt, tough to decompose....

Ah...."straws are for suckers." - The Plastic Pollution Coalition.

I wish everyone a happy new year. See you in 2010.