Several volunteers participated in the Adopt-A-Beach Clean Up on Saturday, September 24, in Port O’Connor. Volunteers have been helping clean up Texas beaches through this Texas General Land Office program for 25 years!

“Since the first cleanup in 1986, more than 422,000 Texas Adopt-A-Beach volunteers have picked up more than 8,100 tons of trash from Texas beaches” according to the Adopt-A-Beach homepage (www.glo.texas.gov/adopt-a-beach).

Twenty-three volunteers came out to help at the fall clean-up at King Fisher Beach. Six members of the local Intracoastal 4-H club cleaned the beach, along with a few adult chaperones. It was also great to see a few local adults lend a hand at the clean-up as well as out-of-town visitors from Conroe, Austin and San Antonio. A couple of volunteers took their own boat out to Sunday Beach to clean up.

Volunteers picked up 17 bags of trash from King Fisher Beach along with 16 bags of trash brought in from Sunday Beach. There were also several items too large to fit into trash bags such as part of a large barrel, food service crates, 2 canopy frames, and large ropes and cables.

This year, volunteers were asked to note items of concern on their data cards. Items of concern listed included a large butane lighter, a few shotgun shells, firecrackers, and a drinking straw with sea turtle bites. Volunteers were also concerned about the innumerable amount of plastic drink lids that were found on the beach.

Unusual items found included four coins from Costa Rica, a plastic toy horse, flip flops, shoestrings, a padded bra, a baby bottle nipple, toothbrushes, a Lavaca Bay oyster tag, a watch, and part of a prop blade.

Local coordinators would like to thank the volunteers for their time and effort. Please join us for the Spring Adopt-A-Beach clean up on Saturday, April 28, 2012.