Don’t Coast: The Winter Shoreline Cleanup
By Andy Whitcomb
Dec 11, 2024
When I was young, I recall being influenced by a sign at a botanical garden: “take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints.” It is a rare non-boating fishing trip where I don’t return with my cargo pockets or a repurposed grocery bag carrying items such as a discarded can, plastic bottle, or lost fishing line. Not only does this help maintain fishing access with landowners, but it helps with watershed conservation by making the water cleaner and safer for people and wildlife, even though on a small scale.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the United States has 95,000 miles of coastal and Great Lakes shoreline. Plus, there are additional shorelines of interior states. Oklahoma alone has 56,000 miles of shoreline of lakes and ponds. When the weather allows, a winter shoreline cleanup can be a fulfilling activity, with fewer insects, a little exercise, and perhaps some camaraderie. Afterall, to reduce pollution through winter cleanups and contribute to watershed conservation on a larger, more significant scale, you probably will need a little help.
A couple of years ago, my family visited Edisto Beach State Park in South Carolina. It was impressively pristine. No discarded bottle caps, food wrappers, or other washed-up debris. It wasn’t until my daughter interned with the park that I learned that this cleanliness was due to a tremendous amount of daily effort by park staff and volunteers.
If you are wondering how to organize a winter cleanup, Leah Schwartzentruber, Sea Turtle Specialist, Edisto Beach State Park, and the sea turtle patrol team use the Ocean Conservancy’s app, “Clean Swell.” “Every morning during the sea turtle season, along with documenting new sea turtle activity, we also pick up trash we come across,” she shared. “Our team then logs it into Clean Swell, documenting each piece of trash we remove from the beach.”
Even though tourist season may be over, winter storms can bring additional shoreline trash and winter shoreline cleanup benefits obviously are important all year. Hiking a winter coastline or shoreline can be fun and full of discovery. On patrol one morning, my daughter and her team found a bottle with a note and money in it. But to keep the findings preferably natural such as shells, driftwood, or interesting rocks, our shores need a bit of assistance by the removal of rubbish, which commonly is some form of plastic or the unfortunately resilient cigarette butts.
To find a winter shoreline cleanup near me, check the website of parks in your state, search for an “adopt-a-beach” program, or reach out on social media. Among the Ocean Conservancy’s winter shoreline cleanup safety tips are wearing gloves or other protective equipment if needed. It is also important that any volunteer for winter cleanup events not pick up anything sharp or wounded/dead animals. Those items can be reported and removed by a higher trained member or leader with additional protection. An organized group for winter shoreline cleanup should also be mindful of the weather, have a list of the participants, and have helpful items such as a first aid kit and a supply of water or hot chocolate for volunteers.
