The Litter Gitter II is special because it enables volunteers to pick up trash from marshes and islands unreachable by land. The Litter Gitter is the waterway cleanup division of North Florida Coastal Caretakers. Morley is the current chair for The Litter Gitter committee – a community project to collect data on the litter removed from our local waterways.
The Litter Gitter II has collected more than 5,000 pounds of trash since April (and counting)!
Our cleanup area was the Salt Run in the Matanzas waterway near St. Augustine, Florida.
We collected several cups, bottles, cans and bags today along with clothing items — a pair of pants, a flip flop and a visor. We even helped tow and secure a piece of a floating dock ahead of the impending storm.
We also spotted tons of wildlife, including bottlenose dolphins, egrets, ospreys, turtles and Roseate spoonbills.
The wildlife highlights just how important it is to keep waterways debris-free so they don’t mistakenly ingest bits of polystyrene foam or micro plastics or become entangled in marine debris such as fishing line, rope or nets.
If you missed the cleanup but would still like to support the Litter Gitter’s mission, you can make a donation. If you’d like to organize a private cleanup for friends, family or co-workers, email jessica@matanzasriverkepper.org.
A big “thank you” to all of the volunteers who came out and to the Litter Gitter group for being so awesome!