SW Washington's Grass Roots Garbage Gang Marks 10th Anniversary!

Past cleanup along a beautiful stretch of the Peninsula. Photo Courtesy of Shelly Pollack

The Grass Roots Garbage Gang is an all-volunteer, Washington State not-for-profit group that cleans up the Peninsula beaches in SW Washington. Each January, April and July hundreds of volunteers clean the Peninsula's 25-mile beach. Support comes from incredible volunteers, local businesses, City of Long Beach, Marine Resource Committee, Washington State Parks and many others.

Over the past years, with the help of thousands of volunteers, well over 100 tons of debris has been removed. 2012 marks the 10th anniversary of Washington's Peninsula organized beach cleanups. The first one of the year, January 21st, marks the 30th. So, join in this community effort and TREASURE OUR BEACHES!

In the midst of all this beauty, does the litter on the beach ever bother you? 

Ever wonder what you could do about it?

Your time, talent and energy would be appreciated, however big or small they might be. Help the effort to truly “treasure our beaches”!

January 21st Beach Cleanup Details:

Cleanup day: Come out to any beach approach at 9:30 AM on Saturday, January 21st, or join an adopt-a-beach group at their assigned section (we can help connect you) , and help us make a huge difference.

A potluck with a speaker will be Friday, January 20th at 5:00pm at the Peninsula Baptist Church. Clay Nichols, a semi-retired geologist and engineer, will talk about "Cascadia's Beaches: Coming and Going.” His topic will include some recent research results on probable global sea level changes and how they will affect our area. Cleanup materials will be distributed to Adopt-A-Beach groups at that time.
     
Areas that Need to be Adopted:

Help is still needed managing a few areas, including Westgate RV Park (208th) south to the Pedestrian sign at 199th; 177th to 170th (satellite tower); 120th south to 105th; 144th to Cranberry Approach; 30th Street slough down to Trails End/NACO RV Park and Beards Hollow slough down to Beards Hollow. PLUS, every January we have an additional 6 miles of beach to clean, Oysterville going north as far as can safely be driven. If you have a group - maybe your family, friends or co-workers - that would like to Adopt-A-Beach, please contact Shelly Pollack.

For as few as 2 or 3 hours every three months - to help collect garbage - you can make an amazing difference!

Have Questions about Tsunami Debris?

A couple of meetings for the public have been scheduled on the Peninsula by the Pacific County Emergency Management Agency. Experts and representatives from several agencies have been invited to give presentations on the marine debris generated by the March 2011 Japanese tsunami and its potential impact on our coastline. They will also take questions from the audience.

These meetings will be held:

6:00pm, Tuesday, January 17, at the Peninsula Church Center, Seaview, WA
10:00am, Wednesday, January 18, at the Ocean Park Fire Hall, Ocean Park, WA

For more information visit www.ourbeach.org or http://www.facebook.com/GrassRootsGarbageGang.