Beach Clean Up

In recent months, I have become increasingly more aware of just how much waste is disposed of around and on the beach, rather than in a proper trash can. I came to the realization that I myself have the power to take action within my community, and ultimately make a difference in a positive way. Although a beach clean up may seem trivial in comparison to the much larger climate crisis our country and world is facing right now, the key to making real progress in mitigating climate change lies within our ability to start combating the crisis in our communities.

Planning for the beach clean up was most definitely a learning experience, as I had the opportunity to take the lead in the planning process. I made the decision to create the beach clean up to include both environmental club members and National Honors society (NHS) members as well. After selecting Saturday, November 6th from 8am to 10am as the date and time, I made an online site where students could sign up. I attempted to include as many people as possible, which is why I made the event a NHS approved event as well so that multiple people could become involved. In order to get the event NHS approved, I had to send in a formal event application to my NHS supervisor, and meet with her to discuss the overall plan. The most challenging part of this process was selecting a date and time that would fit the majority and ensuring that the weather was suitable for a clean up to occur. Although I had to adjust the time quite a few times due to the weather, I was able to finalize the date and time to work for everyone involved. In addition, I purchased trash bags and gloves, as well as some hand warmers for each of the participants. On the day of the clean up, I allowed two other NHS members to help lead different groups around the beach and the town so that we could efficiently cover the entire island.

In total, there were 35 participants that attended the beach clean up. This was wonderful as I had only planned on having between 25-30! I feel confident that this event allowed me to step outside of my comfort zone as I was able to lead a large group of people and guide them to helping our community remain clean. Above all, I gained a better sense of just how significant cleaning up a part of your community is; seeing the amount of trash we were able to discard was eye opening in the sense that I was able to realize just how polluted the beaches are. In turn, I think that the main takeaways of this event include being able to connect with my peers in a purposeful way and seizing the opportunity to better the climate, which I believe motivated the participants to want to continue bettering the climate in the future as well. In order to add to the success of this event in the future, I would spread the message throughout social media platforms and encourage other people who aren’t just students to attend as well. That being said, I do think that this event was extremely successful and provided me with the chance to work with a group towards a shared cause.

Project Year: 2021

Completed by: Sadie Dunne