- The third Saturday of September marks International Coastal Cleanup Day.
- Hundreds of neighbors in Tallahassee joined the global effort by cleaning up lakeshores and parks across town.
- Watch the video to hear why neighbors feel it's important to take care of the nature and wildlife around us.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Nearly 13 million people around the world hit coastal areas near them for International Coastal Cleanup Day. Joining the global effort are hundreds of neighbors hoping to make a dent on pollution closer to home. I’m Kenya Cardonne at Lake Ella in Midtown, one of dozens of parks neighbors spent the morning cleaning up while speaking to me about why this simple act has a bigger impact than most realize.
Every third Saturday of September is also known as International Coastal Cleanup Day.
It's a day for cleaning up millions of pounds of trash in coasts and bodies of water around the world.
Anna Hopkins, Board Chair for Keep Tallahassee Beautiful - “So we do our part here in Tallahassee to organize groups to go around town.”
Coordinating Tallahassee’s contribution to the global effort is Keep Tallahassee Beautiful.
It’s their 32nd annual cleanup and their biggest participation yet, with almost 40 groups of neighbors spread out at parks and lakeshores across the city and county.
Hopkins - “Last year, just one of our groups picked up 100 pounds at one location. So, you multiply that by how many groups we’re getting— I think we’re going to have a lot of impact.”
I spoke with crews working at Lake Ella in Midtown.
Isaac Martinez, Cleanup Member - “So we can save the ducks!”
Neighbors of all ages got their pickup tools to work, including 5-year-old Isaac Martinez.
He filled his own bag with things like..
Martinez - “Glass and plastic and some rope connected to something.”
David Smith, Troop 115 - “So currently we have four bags and they’re pretty full. They’re getting kind of heavy but we’re persevering.”
David Smith with Troop 115 tells me he’s sad to see wildlife sharing their habitat with trash like alcohol containers, water bottles, gloves and plastic bags.
Smith - “Especially here at Lake Ella. We have a lot of wildlife like the ducks and I’ve seen them, even today, come up to the bags and nibble at them and it’s like ‘no bud, you can’t eat that.’”
Volunteers tell me the work done Saturday also teaches communities that.. to enjoy wildlife and nature is to also be responsible with it.
Smith - “They were in this area before we were and so we should take care of them because, really, we’re the stewards of this area and if we don’t take care of them, no one will.”
If you want to participate in the next big cleanup, a city and countywide cleanup called the Super Clean Sweep will take place on March 1st next year.
In Midtown, Kenya Cardonne, ABC 27
