Grass Roots Garbage Gang Rag
April 17th and July 5th are the next two cleanups!


News from our first cleanup of 2010!

Great Weather & Stat's  ~  Lunch Notes ~ What's Next ~ Giving Thanks
Was that the best weather we've ever had for a January cleanup or what?

Over 400 volunteers poured onto the beach Saturday morning, the 23rd of January, as clear skies and calm air was the most welcoming beach cleanup weather in anyone's recent memory.  Adopt-A-Beach groups attacked their sections with their usual vigor and many volunteers came from out of town just to help us clean our beach!  Anyone seeing this display of pure love of this place couldn't help but smile.  I find it personally very heartwarming, seeing scores of white bags in the distance and knowing each was filled by a person who cares about this place.

Volunteers collected four 30-yard dumpsters full of primarily marine debris, weighing in at 7 TONS!  The debris, for numerous reasons, ended up in the ocean currents only to find its way onto our shores by riding the winter tides ashore buffeted by the strongest westerly winds.  The largest items came in off the ocean.  We collected miles of rope, several hundred bits of rope, large Styrofoam chunks, tires from docks, tires from semi-trucks, a bottom of a septic tank, a freezer with a door and just a freezer door.  Still coming up through the sand are thousands of dark grey pieces from the missile fireworks that blast off 100, 500 or even 1000 pieces of plastic in one compact box, as well as the broken-down pieces of all kinds of brightly colored plastic that one could only guess what they once might have been.

There was some local dumping too, always a shame.  A water heater that apparently couldn't do its job any longer, lumpy, old, musty mattresses and things you just don't want to know about.

Thanks again for one of the best cleanups yet!


Lunch notes by Ellen Anderson 
Many commented upon the beautiful day. 

A couple of new volunteers near Cranberry Road mentioned the picker uppers are a ‘life saver’, the experience of working as a community was ‘amazing’ and they gathered by themselves 4 large bagfuls. 

Russ Lewis and Alan Rammer worked ‘up north’, found 5 tires, a buried freezer, a lid for another freezer, at least 150 lbs of ‘crab pot rope, 5 gallon buckets and lots of foam.    Lots and lots of little pieces of plastic.

One very tired guy arrived about 1 PM, grumbling that he had picked up “at least a mile of crab pot rope and a ton of firework plastics.” (Where people are getting the term ‘crab pot rope’?)

Megan and Carson Salisbury (age 6 (?) and 3) escorted their parents, Dustin and Sandy, to the beach for their first family beach cleanup since moving here last summer when Dustin became the Principal at Ocean Park Elementary School.   The kids tried to keep their gloves on but the gloves were a bit too big. They found ‘a lot of plastic’ according to Megan.   She helped put a ‘big blue plastic thing’ into their bag. Dad even got out their vehicle so he could hitch up a big rope cluster deeply buried in the sand and drag it out. Good work, the Salisbury family!!  

Justice and Michael, two other little volunteers, enjoyed their first cleanup so much, their first question when Grandma got them in the car was, ‘When can we do this again?”   We are counting on Justice and Michael in April.  

One volunteer casually mentioned ‘finding a rubber tag with printed numbers on it’ amongst the litter. Once identified as a potentially current crab pot tag, the volunteer searched through the collected litter still in his truck on its way to the dumpster and recovered the current crab pot tag.   We have given it to the crab fishermen group for their identity and return to the licensed owner. 

Ellen comment: I get the general impression that people are upset about the firework plastics and the ‘crab pot rope’ perhaps because in their heart of hearts, they think these are preventable.  We are going to continue to get this valid reaction from cleaners. 

That’s all, folks !!!! 

Ellen Anderson

 

What's coming up next?!
Our next cleanup is April 17th, we'll hit the beach at 9:30 am at every major beach approach.  This will be the same day as the State-wide cleanup and is a great way to celebrate Earth Day as well. 

Our speaker Friday night, after the potluck, is Teresa DeLorenzo.  We will learn things we never suspected about  local plants and animals, including: sexual  habits of slugs, reverence for  skunk cabbage, trlllium love  medicine, why ursa rules the skies, endangered  snags, and the  importance of attracting birds, bees and bats.  Surely an educational and entertaining program we'll all enjoy.
We still need Adopt-A-Beach groups.  Our web site will have a detailed listing of which areas still need a group to adopt them.  It takes about 3 hours 3 days a year to adopt a beach and if you don't want an entire section, we can hook you up with a group close to your favorite beach!  Just drop Shelly@OurBeach.org a note.
We are always looking for more volunteers to help in a number of ways, putting up posters, making soup, greeting volunteers, cleaning.  There are lots of ways for anyone wanting to help this effort to keep our beaches clean - just drop Shelly a note!
 
Giving Thanks!
Our deepest gratitude and many thanks for helping to make this first cleanup
of 2010 a tremendous success!  First, to several businesses and
organizations that support our cleanups on a regular basis:  Peninsula Sr.
Activity Center, Jack's Country Store, The Berry Patch Restaurant, LANTHEMAN
Productions, Buzy Beez, Long Beach Coffee Roasters, Sid's Market, Thriftway
and 42nd Street Cafe ...and, as always, to the Chinook Observer for helping
to spread the word with announcements and articles.  An extra special thanks
to those businesses who highlighted the cleanup in print or on their reader
boards or displayed our banners: Chinook Observer, FunBeach.com, Long Beach
Visitors Bureau, Taft Plumbing, The Bank of the Pacific, Raymond Federal
Credit Union, Box K Auto, Sid's Market, Pioneer Market, City of Long Beach,
Sr. Activity Center, Ocean Park Elementary and Beachdog.com - THANK YOU! 
 
Our VERY special thanks to our countless volunteers who come and clean as
well as the many who organize, develop newsletters, create signs and flyers,
make soup, set up, clean up, make phone calls, answer emails, and so on.
The Ham operators continue to bring a new level of organization to the day
of the cleanup; we are so grateful for their support. Occasionally, we have
an emergency and others jump into action - a special thanks to George Hill
for helping us remove a rather large piece of debris off the beach.  Funding
for the dumpsters came to a head this year.  A newly formed group, the
Marine Resource Committee, rescued us in the nick of time as did Willapa
National Wildlife Refuge and State Parks.  Individual donors who had pledged
to help when needed came forth, too.  I can't tell you how much we
appreciate all the wonderful support this community gives us.  It truly
takes a community, a wonderful one, to pull this off.

To our Adopt-A-Beach Groups and Approach Coordinators - thank you for your
ongoing commitment, enthusiasm and caring:  Friends of Columbia River
Gateway, Sirens of Sea Crest Drive, The Breakers and Cutler Management,
Lighthouse Resort, Larry Cook, Lions, Aubrey Freemantle, Stettner Family,
Naselle Youth Camp, Surfside Homeowners Ass'n, John & Rita Sporseen, Joe
Johns Neighbors, Kiwanis Club, Sandy Stonebreaker, Life's a Beach, North
Ocean Park Neighbors, Ken & Kathie Grover, Charlton & West family & friends,
Shoalwater Birders, The Larys, Marcia Romito, Peninsula Rotary, Ilwaco H. S.
Honor Society, Eerie 8's, Magnusons, The Frosts, Debby Moggio, Pilgrim Pat,
Bev Arnoldy & Kelly Rupp, Tom & Sue Kennedy, Cheri & Russ Lewis and Alan
Rammer, Nancey Olsen, Candy Cullen & Al Crawford, and all the wonderful
volunteers and supporters - so many left unnamed but never unappreciated!
 
The soup feed was extra-special due to our cooks,  Debby Halliburton, Gayle
Borchard, Susan Clark, Steve Pollock, and the many treats from Ellen
Anderson, Stacy, Kerry Amundson and several others whose names slipped by
me. Great appreciation is extended to them by all who enjoyed the goodies so
much. Wonderful clams were provided by Karen and Steve Grey - thanks, all!!
After the soup feed another crew (25 strong) came from Astoria Pointe
Rosebriar to help clean a two-mile stretch of beach.  A very welcome added
boost we needed!  Thank you!

So that people unfamiliar with the area can find the soup feed location,
Paul Warren donated his materials, time and skill to make us two sturdy
sandwich-board signs to place roadside.  When Susi Frost's handiwork was
added, these signs really helped lead us to the good food and socializing
after the work of the cleanup.   Many thanks to our volunteer, Colleen, who made us
buttons, they were a big hit!
 
Thanks to the donors for our raffle: Alan Rammer and Maura Sell. And to all
of you who purchased the tickets to the raffle!   

My apologies to those I've missed; please know that we couldn't have had
nearly the success without you.  Thank you to everyone for helping!
Shelly Pollock
Proud member of this wonderful community