Community Count Day 251 - Arleen McGlade

Today's Community Count post - and you are most welcome to do one too, HERE'S HOW - is a hefty story of my good friend Arleen doing a 20 minute cleanup along her local Martha's Vineyard Beach in Massachusetts. 

Arleen has done several cleanups on her own and with me in the past. Her skilled photography inspires me. You're in for a double treat - stunning photos and heroic tale. 

Read on! And thank you Arleen, always a delight to hear from you and to feel your constant support. 

Arleen, Squibnocket Beach, MV, Mass.

trash collected for 20 minutes

45 pounds!

Community Count total - 1,63.8 pounds off beaches around the world

The Daily Ocean Combined total - 2,262.4 pounds

OVER A TON OF TRASH KEPT OUT OF THE OCEAN IN PART THANKS TO YOU!

Well, wanted to take a walk last night on Squibnocket Beach at dusk to do a clean up.  Ran across the usual- water bottle,

 rope, shoe, hat, can, assorted plastic and styrofoam.  

Then I saw it...!  From a distance couldn't quite make it out, but I knew it was big and I knew I was in for a challenge.  

Wow.  Probably a dozen ropes intertwined with what seemed to be a hammock.  Passersby must have not wanted it to go back into the ocean so there were large, heavy rocks placed on top to hold it in place on the beach.  Had to have been about 40-50 pounds.

  

So, there it was- my challenge...to drag this dead weight about a 1/4 of a mile over sand and rocks and then up a stairway across a parking lot to a dumpster. It took quite some time.  Ok, I went over the 20 minutes, but I did begin the process while I was on the clock.

A surfer stopped to help me get it over some large rocks ( clearly, I was struggling) and then another person helped me get it up the steps as it was incredibly cumbersome and heavy!

What was amazing was who did ( and who didn't ) help.  Life lessons I suppose.

I thought of you the whole time - sang your praises and mentioned your blog to anyone who stopped to talk.  So thankful for what you've done and the number of people you've touched and educated.

So,for official purposes...the trash actually weighed in at 5.6 pounds, but since I couldn't weigh the mass I have to give my best guess.  I know that I could only go about 10-12 steps on the beach and then had to stop because of its weight...hmmm.  So, if we say 45 pounds for both I think that's fair.