Our Daily Ocean: Day 188

When it comes to summer traditions, meeting friends and taking a picnic dinner to the beach is ours.  It's a great way to end the day.  Kids playing.  Laughter.  Catching up.  Waves. Birds.  Simple.  Relaxed. Carefree.

Just going to the beach to hang out and then randomly doing a beach clean up while we walk and chat is what 20 minute beach cleanups are all about.  In fact, this beach cleanup was spawned when my and Tracy's kids wanted us to walk down to the Lifeguard Tower.  I grabbed my bag and by the time we walked down and back... we had done a 20 minute beach cleanup.  Easy.

I have good news to share!  Two sea-turtle nests have been laid at Wrightsville Beach.  And my good friends Ginger and John found the first nest of the season!  Read more here.   I also wanted to share that as they were searching for the eggs in the nest, they kept uncovering cigarette butts and other various plastics.  The mother sea turtle created a womb in the sand... and it was littered with our mess.  Let us all encourage and challenge each other to do more.  Refuse single-use plastics.  Pick up litter when we see it.  Write companies.  What ever it is that you can do, now is the perfect time to start.

20 minutes on May 31, 2013 at Access 40

Litter by weight: 6.5 oz
Cigarette butts: 17

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 188 days:

55,099

Our Daily Ocean: Day 72

Some people go out for dinner and a movie... but not us.  Nope.  When my husband and I go out sans our (awesome) kids, we prefer to do dinner and a beach clean up ;)

On Friday, as we started our 20 minutes, the first thing we noticed was this huge hole.

We couldn't get over how deep it was, but it wasn't just deep!!  If I would have laid down... it was the length of my body!  Being that it's sea turtle nesting season, we immediately made the decision to fill the hole (and another one that we found).  If you're confused about what a hole on the beach has to do with a sea turtle, here's the deal:  Mama sea turtles come ashore to lay their eggs... deep holes are (dangerous) obstacles that could either injure or trap the turtle. :(

Digging holes at the beach is super fun... but it's also loads of fun filling them back in!  So... if you dig a hole while at the beach this summer... please take a moment to fill it in.  AND... even if you didn't dig the hole... please take a couple of minutes and fill the hole so that a mama sea turtle can safely come ashore to lay her eggs.

The volunteers of the WB Sea Turtle Project are also finding holes on the beach... Check out this recent post on WB--Keep It Clean that includes a picture of a deep hole with a sand sculpture of a sea turtle.

More sea turtle news: the other morning I read this incredible story about a leatherback sea turtle laying her eggs on a beach in Florida. What's amazing about this particular sea turtle is that she doesn't have her rear flippers to dig her nest... so volunteers watch for her and dig a hole just deep enough for her to lay her eggs!!  How amazing is that!?!

When we weren't busy filling in holes, we were busy picking up litter.  Thankfully, the beach wasn't trashed.  There was a little litter here and there, but all in all... I was pleasantly surprised... and so relieved to not have the overwhelming feeling that we had during the last weekends in May.

If there were awards for the strangest thing we find on the beach... this empty bag of "My Mommy's Milk" would get it!  My husband and I both immediately made the joke: Doesn't mommy's milk come package free?? ;)

Access 33 is one of our least visited accesses.  For some reason I never think to go there.  In fact, Friday's clean up was only our 3rd at Access 33... AND... I just realized it was EXACTLY 2 months ago on April 10!!  I always find it interesting looking back... seeing the differences between the days and months.  Sometimes the difference is better and sometimes it's worse.  On Friday, the cigarette butt litter at 33 was significantly better than our last visit. But something that isn't changing is people's lack of responsibility.  Last time, we watched as a man threw his fishing line to the ground.  This time, as were were leaving the beach...we found something in our path that wasn't there when we first came... a plastic bag with a dirty diaper. :(   I can't even imagine how or why the people would have put their trash in the middle of the pathway.  The trash can was nearly empty and there's even a trash can at the Blockade Runner Hotel.  Hmmm... while I'm baffled at how some people seem to have a blatant disregard for our environment... I am thankful for every single person that takes the time to make this world a better place to live in :)

20 minutes on June 10, 2011 at Access 33

Litter by weight: 1 lb 13.1 oz

Cigarette butts: 91

Found 10 littered plastic straws... hmmm... thinking that Blockade Runner needs to make the switch to paper or reusable glass straws ;)

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 72 days:

21,438

Turtle Talk

On June 1st--thanks to an early morning call from my friend Ginger-- my kids and I went to the sea turtle release at Topsail Island.  It was only the second release that we've ever been to, but just like the first there's something so magical about watching the rehabilitated turtles get to go "home."  I swear the ocean is calling them... you can see it in how the turtles react.  Their excitement can't be contained... stretching, flapping, waving... longing to be back in the ocean.... I can only imagine how free they must feel as soon as they dive into the open water.... seriously, inspiring and magical.  If you've never been to see rehabilitated sea turtles released... listen to me... you MUST.

Ok... this is not my photo.  I did take photos at the release, but when "Remembrance" came out everyone swarmed and I couldn't get a photo.  Remembrance was found Memorial Day 2010 floating lifelessly in the waters off of Masonboro Island.  Just look at how full of life she is now!! :)  Photo by: Kevin Blevins

Going to the release on Wednesday was just the tip of what was to come for us last week.  During our "field trip" to Virginia, my family and Bonnie had the fortune to meet Christina.  Christina works with the Stranding Response Program.  After all of our tours (and lunch), we went to the stranding center for a private tour of the facility.... and we got to see lots of sea turtles!!! Now... I've been to the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center on a field trip with my son's school... BUT... a private tour is a completely different experience.  We got to take as much time as we wanted with every turtle and ask as many questions that we could think of... no worrying about the next person because there were no other people.  It was just us and the turtles.... :)

During our visit to the Stranding Facility, I was reminded of some of the reasons we are making a conscious effort to reduce the amount of plastic we use.  

Christina handed Bonnie this jar with fragments of plastic that had been ingested by sea turtles.  It's hard to turn away from the evidence that plastic is harming wildlife when it's held right in front of you.  Plastic pollution is a serious threat to all life... and it's something that each and everyone of us is connected to.  The companies that make the plastic products aren't going to change what they're doing anytime soon... the health and well-being of the life on this planet is of no importance to them.  $$ is where it's at.  If we want to change this-- animals eating plastic-- then it's up to us to start eliminating it from our lives.  If you haven't already... I challenge you to stop buying bottled water and start using a reusable bottle; stop taking plastic bags and start using reusables.  When you've given those up... find something else to eliminate. ;)


Another thing that Christina shared with us while at the stranding rehabilitation facility was this sea turtle made from balloons.  

If you don't know... when balloons are floating in water they take on the appearance of jellyfish.... sea turtles happen to love to eat jellyfish.  Could you imagine being a sea turtle... seeing what looked like a yummy jellyfish... gulping it down (of course, never knowing it really is an inedible balloon)... only to have your digestive tract blocked with plastic??  As soon as we learned of the horrible truths about what balloons do to sea turtles, we immediately stopped accepting them.  My kids haven't taken or accepted a balloon in years.  So... what can you do??  First, say "no thank you" when you're offered a balloon.  Second:  Never under any circumstances release balloons.  A released balloon is a littered balloon.  A littered balloon could end up being lunch for unknowing wildlife (and also poses a threat of entanglement).  Last year, volunteers of the Wrighsville Beach Sea Turtle Project offered some ideas on how to celebrate without releasing balloons such as releasing butterflies, planting a tree or planting a field of wildflowers.

Speaking of the Wrightsville Beach Sea Turtle Project... it's sea turtle nesting season.  Every morning volunteers go out to WB to look for sea turtle tracks.  As they're looking for tracks of nesting momma sea turtles, they're also picking up the litter that they find.  Ginger shares all of the emails she receives from the volunteers and is tallying everything on their new blog: Wrightsville Beach--- Keep It Clean.  So far they've picked up over 122 grocery-sized bags of litter. WHOA!!  I'm really loving that they're keeping track of what they're finding... BUT... what's really great about what they're doing is that they are encouraging everyone to join in helping keep Wrightsville Beach clean!  It's simple:  Go to WB.  Pick up litter.  Send an email with what you found and Ginger will add it to the totals.  For how to get involved check out the "History" at the bottom of the "KIC" blog.  Don't live near WB or near any beach... that's ok... you can still help by picking up the litter that you find in your local park... on a walk down the street... in a parking lot... wherever you are... you can help.

Do it for the turtles... for the dolphins... for the fish... for whatever it is you connect to...do it for the ocean.  

"You don't have to live near the ocean for it to have an impact on you. And you don't have to live near the ocean for you to have an impact on it." 

~Jason Mraz

Sea Turtles

This morning I woke to the most AWESOME email.... I was so excited by what I read that I almost called my mom at 6:15 (she's CST and I'm EST).... instead, I decided to let my mom sleep and hold in my excitement for another hour.... when I finally called her, I'm not sure that I even said "good morning" when she answered her phone.  Instead, I said, "We're going to a sea turtle release today!!!!!"

The sea turtle releases were held at Topsail Beach, NC by the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center.  I am beyond grateful for that email I received this morning... because I have ALWAYS wanted to witness sea turtles be released... 

Seeing those turtles flapping their flippers... in obvious excitement to go home... it's like the ocean was calling them and they were waving, "Here we come."

I LOVE sea turtles...and they're only one of the millions of reasons that I LOVE the ocean... and one of the reasons that we should all work to clean, restore and protect our oceans... 

Want to help sea turtles???  There are easy things that we can ALL do and it has to do with plastics.

The plastic in our oceans is killing thousands of sea turtles and marine mammals each year. Help decrease the amount of plastic that is put in our oceans by adopting habits that exclude plastics. 

#1.  Realize that "disposable" does NOT mean "goes away."  Everything that we create, especially things that are made of plastic, stay on this Earth FOREVER.

#2.  Say "NO thank you" to plastic bags.  Plastic bags BLOW!!  If you don't take one... it never has a chance to reach the ocean.  (Yes, this matters even if you live in Iowa ;) )

#3.  Reduce the amount of plastic that we use.  Buy in bulk, bring containers (don't take plastic bags!), stop purchasing single serve products, ditch straws...

#4.  NEVER (under any circumstances) release balloons.  Sure it looks cool when the balloons float up into the sky... it looks like they'll float to space.  BUT... they don't.  They always fall back to land... and balloons look like a sea turtle's favorite food:  jellyfish.  (Be sure to check out the link for some pics of a sea turtle that ingested balloons)   The awesome volunteers of WB Sea Turtle Project have some great ideas for celebrating (or honoring a memory) without the releasing of balloons.  Check it out here:  WB Sea Turtle Project blog 

#5.  If you see a piece of litter pick it up.  Never expect that someone else will get it... you are that someone else.  Pick it up and put it where it belongs.  Oh yeah, don't litter either ;)

Our Daily Ocean: Day 7

I really wanted to get out to the beach today... two reasons:  1.  We've been cooped up at home for 2 days because my son was sick (boo!) and 2.  Hurricane Earl.  The hurricane is just off our coast and we usually go looking for seashells and such... but I was really interested in what Earl was stirring up and what he would be unveiling at the beach.

SO... we made a (long) stop at the library then made our way to the beach access that we've been going to for the past 11 years:

I know, I know... I really haven't made much of an effort to go to the North end of Wrightsville Beach... but what can I say?  I'm a South end kind of girl ;)  Kidding... I really didn't feel like paying for parking today... so I parked at our friend's house :D

Usually, Access 39 isn't too bad... we tend to go there whenever we participate in organized beach clean-ups and can walk a good way without finding too much.  BUT... today... was different.  (As I knew it would be.)  Whether a hurricane comes ashore or not doesn't really change the fact that the ocean is churning... and it ALWAYS spits stuff out....

When I found this thick foam-like plastic I immediately thought of The Plastic Ocean.  There was life growing all over it.... makes me wonder how long it was in the ocean.   Oh yeah... the cigarette butts are there, too... with little bits of styrofoam scattered about.

Off-shore storms change the beach... digging and reshaping... and when they do.... so much is uncovered that has been buried under the sand..

The cigarette butts were everywhere.  Just moving all of the natural debris that was piled up and we easily found between 10-20 cigarette butts underneath it all (and that would just be one pile).  And to my (senses) surprise...the butts weren't old... as disgusting as it is... the majority still had their nasty smell.  

Another thing that we kept finding today was plastic bottle caps... have YOU made the switch to a reusable water bottle??  I've talked about my commitment here, here, here, and here.  (yes... there are more) And if you haven't watched "The Story of Bottled Water"... you can find it here.

Walking South from Access 39, we saw this....

 

When I saw the orange tape from a distance... I got super excited.  Sea Turtles!!!  YAY!!  I had been bummed awhile ago when I went to the Wrightsville Beach Sea Turtle Project's website and read that there were no sea turtle nests on WB for 2010... so you can imagine my excitement today when I saw this!!  AWESOME!

But then I looked and saw the tide line.... and thought about everything that we pick up off of the beach and the Sargasso Sea... and how a sea turtle's chance of surviving to adulthood is 1 in 10,000.  Then I thought about how sea turtles come back to the same beach they hatched on... and that there must not be many sea turtle nests because they're not making it to adulthood to come back (bummer).... and maybe... it has something to do with all of this:

Washed in with a wave... rubber sole.  We also found a pieces of shingles this way.

When flipped over... the inside was covered in barnacles.

Of course, I can't stop thinking about how the California bill (AB 1998) to ban plastic carry out bags got voted down in the California Senate... I had such high hopes for the ripple effect that bill could've created in our country. 

 Did you know that plastic bags look like one of a sea turtles favorite foods??... jellyfish.  

I'm disappointed for so many reasons....

On that note...this isn't trash (per say).... it's a rice cake.  Thing is, I went to pick it up because from a distance I thought that it was styrofoam.  

How does an animal figure out if it's food or plastic?  Oh yeah... they do a taste test.

20 minutes on September 2, 2010

Litter picked up by weight:  1 lb 11 oz

Cigarette Butts: 427

Total amount of cigarette butts picked up off of Wrightsville Beach, NC in 7 days:

2,171*

*I had to add this several times... because it's just too hard to believe... we pick them up and we count them... I have them in containers in my garage... and I still can't wrap my head around it all...now I'm all teary eyed :(