Clean Sweep

This article was submitted by Emily Westhoven.

Last Sunday’s “CoastSweep” beach clean-up on Fisherman’s Beach netted a mighty haul.

The Swampscott Yacht Club and its youth group “SY2C” invited the community to help clean and record the amount and type of debris found along Fisherman’s Beach.

About 60 volunteers - many of them younger than 10 years old - fanned out to search under rocks, dig in the sand and pick up along the water.

All in all, the volunteers collected 10 black trash bags and plenty of big size debris – all of which was recorded by category and item on datasheets.

The results (f.ex.: 174 food wrappers,  91 bottle caps, 118 pieces of plastic bags, 58 strapping bands as well as toys, clothing, rugs, rags and more) have been forwarded to the CoastSweep program and will be counted into the 2011 CoastSweep report.

About the Swampscott Yacht Club
The Swampscott Yacht Club (SYC) is a nonprofit organization formed in 1933. The purposes of the Club are to promote, encourage and advance yachting; develop the friendship, sportsmanship and fellowship of its members; promote safe boating for adult and junior members; and promote community service. The SYC has a long history of community service as evidenced by the coordination of the Polar Bear Plunge each New Year’s Day, the annual scholarship for a SHS senior, and the continued support of the Friends of Swampscott Sailing, the High School Sailing Team, Swampscott Recreation Department Sailing Program and other town athletic organizations. You can learn more about the SYC at www.swampscottyachtclub.org <http://www.swampscottyachtclub.org> .

About COASTSWEEP
For more than twenty years, Massachusetts volunteers have scoured beaches, river banks, marshes, and the seafloor to pick up trash and record information about the types of trash being collected. These volunteers are part of COASTSWEEP, the Commonwealth’s annual coastal cleanup program, organized by the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management and the Urban Harbors Institute of the University of Massachusetts Boston. You can learn more about the COASTSWEEP program by visiting the COASTSWEEP website:http://www.coastsweep.umb.edu <http://www.coastsweep.umb.edu>  or by calling the Urban Harbors Institute at 617-287-5570.