Jensen Beach, FL—May 1, 2007—A comprehensive clean-up of Martin County beaches conducted on Saturday, April 21, yielded 2,500 pounds of litter, reported Keep Martin Beautiful—a non-profit agency dedicated to reducing litter and preserving our beaches, parks and roadways.
The event, hosted by the Treasure Coast chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, the BUZZ 103.1 FM, Keep Martin Beautiful, and Martin County Parks and Recreation Department, drew a crowd of over 140 volunteers who celebrated Earth Day by collecting trash for over two hours on Martin County’s Hutchinson Island beaches.
The number one item found on local beaches was cigarette butts, reported Kelsea Kearns, vice-chair of the Treasure Coast Surfrider chapter. “We handed out over 50 large drink cups donated by Hutchinson Island Publix, and they all came came back filled.” Surfrider volunteers Cole Taschman and Alex Elias of Hutchinson Island won the prize for the most cigarette butts, filling eleven drink cups with butts collected from Stuart Public Beach.
In the “most unusual” category, Jenny, Brian and Scott Kilbride of Sewall’s Point took top honors, with their discoveries of a cloth patch with the Jimi Hendrix Experience logo, a bullet casing and a corroded light fixture.
Following the event, volunteers were treated to a free barbecue and a reggae concert by local band NO KAI. A raffle of surf art items and prizes donated from the community raised over $1,000 to sponsor disadvantaged youths from the Hibiscus Children’s Center to attend a summer surf and environmental camp.