Each year, volunteers join forces to clean up local beaches. This year, that also involved debris removal following Hurricane Sandy. A number of those efforts are organized by Save the Sound's Coastal Cleanup program, which in 2012 brought together 2,450 volunteers who removed 16,310 pounds of trash from 57 miles of Connecticut beaches and riverfronts.
In total, Save the Sound helped coordinate 57 coastal cleanup events across the state this year, including one in Niantic at Hole in the Wall Beach and one at Sound View Beach in Old Lyme. In Old Lyme, just four volunteers worked to clear 25 pounds of trash from the small half-mile stretch of beach at Sound View. In Niantic, 70 volunteers cleared away a whopping 391 pounds of trash from a three-mile stretch around Hole in the Wall beach.
“Once again, the volunteer turnout to help keep our shorelines trash-free has been nothing short of amazing,” said Kierran Broatch, volunteer and outreach coordinator for Save the Sound. “These dedicated volunteers picked up tons of marine debris by hand that would have otherwise posed safety risks not only to beachgoers, but to the wildlife that call these shoreline areas home. We anticipate that our next cleanup season will be more critical than ever, as our volunteers help clean up the debris left in Hurricane Sandy’s wake.”
Of Save the Sound’s 57 cleanups this year, 39 were held in September and October as part of Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup. Two were held in November to clean up debris from Hurricane Sandy. Save the Sound is a program of Connecticut Fund for the Environment.
Here's a breakdown of the 2012 coastal cleanup data for New London county.
NEW LONDON COUNTY
Location
City
Volunteers
Number of Cleanups
Pounds of Trash
Miles Cleaned
Bluff Point State Park
Groton
115
1
300
5
Green Harbor Beach
New London
11
1
55
0.25
Mitchell Beach
New London
28
1
100
0.25
Ocean Beach Park
New London
91
2
113
2
Hole in the Wall Beach
Niantic
70
1
391
3
Sound View
Old Lyme
4
1
25
0.5
Harkness Memorial State Park
Waterford
11
1
53
0.25
TOTAL
330
8
1,037
11.25
