By Susan Macken, Apalachicola Riverkeeper Administrative Coordinator
This year’s annual Franklin County Coastal Cleanup is right around the corner. Scheduled for Saturday, September 12th, this year’s cleanup will involve hundreds of volunteers at locations throughout Franklin County.
As you might imagine, a successful cleanup requires a good bit of preparation. On two recent afternoons, a couple of staff members from Apalachicola Riverkeeper were joined by two volunteers to assemble the boxes of materials and supplies for each location. Hundreds of t-shirts, garbage bags, and gloves were sorted and packed into boxes. Snacks were added to each box along with hand sanitizer and masks. The boxes were then topped off with educational materials from the International Coastal Conservancy along with the essential data collection forms that volunteers will use to record and tally the trash that is collected at each location.
Many thanks to volunteers Ada Long and Lori Gilbertson for their help with packing the boxes. As Doug quipped as we worked, “many hands make light work.” A huge shout out to Ada for being the driving force behind the Franklin County Coastal Cleanup! For well over a decade, she has been the primary volunteer organizer of our local effort.
Last year in Franklin County, 373 volunteers collected almost 7 tons of trash from the local beaches, bay, gulf, and river. The volunteers recorded what they collected so organizers can develop ways to deter these trash problems in the future. We are looking forward to yet another successful Coastal Cleanup and reconnecting with the many volunteers who assist with this effort.
Join the effort at one of the many cleanup locations. No pre-registration is required.