beachbites
Sunbathers come and go but
their trash is here to stay. Keep
America Beautiful and SUP
Cleanup are two of the many
local organizations that sweep the beaches
and the waterways at the end of the season.
On September 24, volunteers will gather for
the Big Sweep Beach Cleanup to help keep
the sandy backyard of Wrightsville residents
clean and litter-free.
Keep America Beautiful annually
participates in the Big Sweep, a statewide
cleanup that aims to improve not only the
look of North Carolina, but the attitude of
local communities as well. Beginning at
9 a.m. near Johnnie Mercer’s Pier, volunteers
along the coast will be able to make a difference
and join in on the trash removal.
“New Hanover has participated in Big
Sweep since 1987,” says Jennifer O’Keefe,
coordinator of Keep America Beautiful’s
New Hanover County chapter. “We work to
16
WBM september 2011
clean up our land and our waterways. It’s a
great way to improve the community while
spending time outdoors.”
Another advocate, SUP Cleanup, strives
to keep Wrightsville Beach as clean as when
people first set foot on sand. Co-founded
by Jeoffrey Nathan, SUP Cleanup is an effort
that gathers paddlers on standup boards,
in canoes and kayaks, to travel to nearby
marsh islands that aren’t typically targeted
in big-name beach cleanups.
nature
Beachy clean
Time spent cleaning the beach is
time well spent