Clean Coast is a Savannah based, 501(c)3 non-profit volunteer organization which works to combat marine debris by holding monthly beach and marsh cleanups on the Georgia Coast, one of the last extensive undeveloped shorelines in the United States. Although remote and beautiful, our coastline has not escaped the pervasive problem of marine debris and is well sprinkled with trash which is a nuisance and an eyesore for us humans and oftentimes deadly to wildlife.
Clear plastic bags floating in the water can be mistaken for jellyfish and eaten by turtles, fish, or dolphins. Fish and other marine animals and birds become entangled in fishing line, nets or six-pak rings. Styrofoam eventually breaks up into small pellets that are mistaken for eggs and eaten. We try to minimize these hazards by cleaning up the trash and promoting public awareness of the problem. This photo of a dead pelican entangled in balloon string was taken by a Clean Coast member during an outing on one of Georgia's pristine barrier islands.
Clean Coast has been active for over ten years and has collected tons of trash from our beaches and marshes. We estimate we that we pick up an average 800 -1,000 lbs. of trash per cleanup and we do at least one cleanup each month. Everyone is invited to attend our cleanups, and although we encourage people to become members, non-members are welcome to volunteer.
Our biggest challenge is that most of these shorelines are not accessible by land. We own a 24ft. Carolina skiff which we use to haul away the trash and we rely on volunteer boat owners to help transport our volunteers. If you are interested in becoming one of our volunteer boat owners, please drop us a line. mailbox@cleancoast.org.
Tags: Environment/Conservation savannah coast Water
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