Keep Jacksonville Beautiful is the local affiliate of The Keep America Beautiful commission. Each year, Keep Jacksonville Beautiful organizes local International Coastal Cleanup Day cleanup locations throughout the city led by site captains. This year, The Girls Gone Green was once again site captain at Riverside Park, next to historic Five Points.
Why was an inner-city park part of a cleanup devoted to cleaning up the coastlines and waterways? Simple. Trash travels! Located just a few short blocks from the St. Johns River, Riverside Park gets a lot of people traffic, which equates to a lot of trash – litter that can easily blow or wash down the road or make its way into drains. Stopping trash in its tracks prevents litter from washing into the river and out to sea.
International Coastal Cleanup Day was established more than 30 years ago in Texas. Since then, it has grown to include volunteers from states and territories in the U.S. and more than 100 countries. Since its inception, more than 12 million volunteers have collected more than 220 million pounds of trash!
The Ocean Conservancy has some great resources for starting your own cleanup – before, during and after. You can make plans to join an established cleanup next year or start your own!
Download the Clean Swell app to document the trash you find year-round. You don't have to wait for an official cleanup to make a difference! Pick up trash wherever you see it. Next time you're at the beach, bring a bag or bucket to collect litter. Everyone can make an impact.
Thank you to all of the wonderful volunteers who came out to help clean up at our site and around the world! How cool is it to participate in and international event united to protect our seas from harmful trash?