The New York Chapter of the American Littoral Society, the Town of North Hempstead, and the Manhasset Bay Protection Committee and their partners would like to thank everyone who came out on Sept. 29 and made our beach clean-up a success.
Although it was the day of Pride in Port, 25 volunteers (adults, teens, and kids) picked up a whopping 200 pounds of trash despite only being a third of the workforce of last year. Food wrappers, along with other single-use food-related objects, were by far the most collected items.
This past summer, the Long Island Sound Study and the member organizations of its Citizens Advisory Committee, including the Manhasset Bay Protection Committee, shared posts on social media highlighting the problem of this waste to wildlife and water quality in Long Island Sound and the oceans. In total, the posts and tweets were seen more than 130,000 times on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with the hashtag #DontTrashLISound. The campaign also produced images, like the one seen here, to remind people of their role in protecting the environment.
“The Town of North Hempstead is proud to partner with the Manhasset Bay Protection Committee for another successful cleanup,” said Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth. “We thank all of the volunteers who made it possible. Is it so important to protect our shorelines and waterways, keeping them clean for future generations.”
“As a member of the New York State Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee, I know how important it is to maintain our beaches so I am always ready to pitch in and lend a hand,” said state Assemblyman Anthony D’Urso. “Unfortunately this time due to the numerous Pride in Port celebrations I was only able to stop by and say thank you for a job well done.”
“Beaches bring important environmental, quality of life and economic benefits to surrounding communities,” said EPA Regional Administrator Pete Lopez. “As a key partner in the effort to restore Long Island Sound, EPA is proud of efforts like this. The hard work demonstrated by these volunteers in the Town of North Hempstead illustrates their commitment to keeping Long Island Sound beaches clean, safe and enjoyable.”
On Sept. 29, as part of the International Coastal Cleanup, local residents, girl scouts and their families, high school students, a Town employee, and others convened at the boat ramp at Manorhaven Beach Town Park to sign-in and collect their supplies. The volunteers then broke into groups and headed out onto the beach or towards Sheets Creek.
This year, more effort was concentrated in Sheets Creek, which had a lot of large debris, such as tires, discarded wood beams and sticks. A dedicated group of girl scouts worked to remove large debris from the creek, including a tire that had to be left behind as the tide came in. Among the most interesting finds were construction debris, including carpet and bricks, heralding an important reminder that dumping is illegal. Another particularly dedicated group of volunteers hauled a 100-pound mooring assembly (mushroom anchor, mooring ball, and chain) from where it washed up on the beach to the collection site in the parking lot.
“I was completely astonished by the dedication of the volunteers this year,” said Manhasset Bay Protection Committee Executive Director Sarah Deonarine. “It takes a special person to get up on a Saturday morning and head out into the mud to clean up after everyone else, let alone stopping at almost nothing to remove these heavy, mud-covered items.”
