International Coastal Cleanup Day!
A few weekends ago we woke up bright and early and headed out to Topanga State Beach to volunteer for Heal the Bay on Coastal Cleanup Day. This was a global event and half a million people from around the world showed up on beaches, rivers, parks and coastlines for a massive clean up. Half a million, that's amazing!
At first glance California beaches look super clean, but as we began to walk the amount of plastic, bottle caps, pieces of toys, etc., buried in the sand was staggering. Big chucks of plastic are scary, but small little pieces of plastic are even scarier. The tiny, often bright colored pieces break down into smaller and smaller pieces until they are either carried out into the sea or eaten by sea life. This causes massive damage to their digestive systems and more often than not, results in death.
9,600 volunteers came out at 61 sites across the city of Los Angeles from Compton to Malibu, that's about 45 miles. 230,000 lbs. of trash was collected in just under three hours! Our Off The Grid team alone collected 10lbs!
It takes so little effort to clean up when you leave the beach. This simple act saves ocean life, which aids in healing the planet. So let's be mindful of what we leave behind, literally.
~julie
At first glance California beaches look super clean, but as we began to walk the amount of plastic, bottle caps, pieces of toys, etc., buried in the sand was staggering. Big chucks of plastic are scary, but small little pieces of plastic are even scarier. The tiny, often bright colored pieces break down into smaller and smaller pieces until they are either carried out into the sea or eaten by sea life. This causes massive damage to their digestive systems and more often than not, results in death.
9,600 volunteers came out at 61 sites across the city of Los Angeles from Compton to Malibu, that's about 45 miles. 230,000 lbs. of trash was collected in just under three hours! Our Off The Grid team alone collected 10lbs!
It takes so little effort to clean up when you leave the beach. This simple act saves ocean life, which aids in healing the planet. So let's be mindful of what we leave behind, literally.
Oddest piece of trash we found: a mouse trap
Most repetitive piece of trash we found: cigarette butts
Dana ran for this bottle just before the tide came and swept it up to sea.
A volunteer teaching these little girls the dangers of littering. It's so important that we instill a positive and responsible level of love and respect for our planet in young children. What they learn now will lead to what they know later. They are the future.
Mike and Julie pulling out hidden trash from between the rocks.
Getting our trash weighed! We came out to about 10 pounds of trash total.
A volunteer recommended a great FREE app to keep track of our trash, it's called CLEAN SWELL. We highly recommend it!! Very user friendly. Great for kids too.
~julie
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