Earth Day Beach Cleanups!

The huge "haul" at Peirce Island, Earth Day 2006. Will we find as much this year?

Want to celebrate Earth Day and help marine life at the same time?  Join us for an upcoming beach cleanup!

All supplies are provided, and the cleanups take 1-2 hours. You can even just drop by for 15 minutes, and that will make a difference to the health of a marine animal!

This green sea turtle in Belize was freed from a plastic tie. The turtle's body had grown around the tie.  Green sea turtles are also found in the Gulf of Maine.John Chinuntdet, 2007/Marine Photobank

How Do Cleanups Help?

Marine debris can affect marine life in a multitude of ways.  Animals can eat debris, which can then lodge in their digestive tract, blocking their ability to digest food. Or it can make them feel full so they don't each enough "real" food. If you want a really graphic example of the effects of marine debris, read this story to learn about a sei whale whose stomach was lacerated by a shard from a DVD case. 

Items such as balloon strings and discarded fishing line can entangle marine life, with sometimes fatal results. If it washes out to the ocean, debris can also help transport invasive species and toxins. 

Let's get it off the beach before it washes away!

Cleanup Schedule:

• Saturday, April 18:

• York, ME: Meet at 10:00 AM at Cape Neddick Beach. Hosted by Susan DeQuattro of Coldwell Banker Yorke Reality and Tina Bach.
• Hampton Beach, NH: Meet at 10:30 AM at the Blue Ocean Discovery Center, 170 Ocean Blvd, Hampton Beach, NH
• Portsmouth, NH: Meet at 11:00 AM on Peirce Island, on the small hill just past the city pool. 
• Major Earth Day Sponsor: gells
  

• Saturday, April 25:
• Rye, NH: Cleanup as part of the Seacoast Science Center's Rescue Run. The race is at 9 AM, the cleanup starts at 11!

Click here for Blue Ocean Society's full cleanup schedule

Hope to see you there!