It’s a Wrap! Summer Litter Clean-Ups with the Watershed Alliance
Guest post from LCNN partner Anna Wilde from the Watershed Alliance of SW Washington
Every summer, the Watershed Alliance brings volunteers out to local beaches for summer litter clean-ups. These events help keep trash, plastic waste, recyclables, and cigarette butts out of our waterways and help to protect the valuable wildlife habitat these beaches provide.
This year was our biggest beach clean-up year yet! With events at Wintler Park, Frenchman’s Bar, the Ridgefield waterfront, and Lacamas Lake, our volunteers worked hard May to September to keep these spaces clean for animals and people.
As we wrap up our clean-up season, we’re excited to share that this year, 572 volunteers removed 1,551 lbs. of trash as well as 20,000* cigarette butts. What a great year!
What Do Beach Clean-Ups Look Like?
We welcome all ages to our volunteer events. You will see adults, kids, school clubs, youth groups, employee groups, and others at these events. If you want to bring your friends, your club, your co-workers, or another group to one of our events, contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Micayla Jones, at micayla@thewatershedalliance.org.
These events happen rain or shine, so it is important to dress for the weather and bring water. We provide gloves and tools for all of our events.
It’s also important to us that our events are accessible. For specific accommodation information, which varies from event to event, contact Micayla.
What Happens To The Cigarette Butts?
When our volunteers collect trash, we give them separate small buckets for cigarette butts. At each event, we collect these items in a bin and at the end of the season, we send it to a company called Terracycle where they can be broken down and recycled. This year, we are combining our cigarette butts with those found by volunteers with the Water Resources Education Center for an even greater impact!
What Happens When The Beach Clean-Up Season Is Over?
We are now entering into our tree planting season. In the fall and winter, we hold volunteer tree planting events in Vancouver, Ridgefield, Camas, and other locations in Clark County. Last year we planted 19,848 trees with over 800 volunteers and we’re excited for another big year of planting! You can see upcoming events and register at our website.
In addition to our volunteer events, we also do local habitat restoration projects as well as education about water quality issues. Our mission is to empower community members to protect and restore southwest Washington’s waterways for the benefit of current and future generations. Find out more about our work at www.thewatershedalliance.org.
*Estimated based on weight and volume