Community Corner

Volunteers Clean Up Beaches in Waterford, New London County

Save the Sound reports that statewide, 2,450 volunteers joined its beach cleanup events in 2012 and removed 16,310 pounds of trash from 57 miles of Connecticut's shoreline and riverbanks.

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 the beach at Harkness Park. There, 11 volunteers worked to clear 53 pounds of trash in just .25 miles of 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.”

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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.

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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


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