Friends of the Bay’s first beach cleanup of the year held at Beekman Beach in Oyster Bay on Saturday, February 24, was an enormous success.
More than 50 volunteers from neighboring towns braved the cold and the wind to collect over 135 pounds of trash from Beekman Beach and West Shore Road.
“These volunteer cleanups are such an uplifting and gratifying experience for everyone involved,” said Christine Suter, executive director of Friends of the Bay. “It’s a chance for people to get some fresh air and exercise and see instant results of their efforts. At the end of these events the beaches look pristine. It’s also a great learning experience for people of all ages to see firsthand what some of the most common items are that are littering our shorelines. It helps promote both environmental stewardship and responsible consumerism,”.
Friends of the Bay, the environmental conservation and advocacy organization located in Oyster Bay, hosts a monthly cleanup from February through November. Last year volunteers helped collect more than 1,000 pounds of trash from our shorelines.
The mission of Friends of the Bay is to preserve, protect and restore the ecological integrity and productivity of the Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor Estuary and the surrounding watershed. For more information, visit www.friendsofthebay.org.
—Submitted by the Friends of the Bay
