Our Daily Ocean: Day 185

Welcome to Wrightsville Beach, the first smoke-free beach in North Carolina!!!   We worked hard to make it happen and we're "thumbs up" happy about it! I'd like to express my personal gratitude to everyone who took the time to write the NC legislature asking them to oppose SB703 and preserve our smoke-free outdoor spaces.  Thank YOU so very very much!!

Ok... so onto last night's record low clean up... what? wait... what's that?  Yup, I said it (again). Record low cigarette butt count.  My friend Tracy and I did a 20 minute beach clean up while our kids played. The two of us together picked up 14 cigarette butts at Access 39.

Curious about how this compares to past clean ups at Access 39?

November 24, 2010 = 166 cigarette butts
August 25, 2011 = 176 cigarette butts
June 8, 2012 = 94 cigarette butts

or how about this one from Access 38 on May 14, 2011.  Same time of year.  178 cigarette butts.

I have always believed that smoke-free beach ordinances help reduce cigarette litter... but to see it happening already... I'm thrilled!!

On another note, sea turtle nesting season is upon us again!  (yay!)  That means the WB Sea Turtle Project Volunteers will be spending their early mornings walking the beach in search of turtle tracks.  As they walk the beach, many volunteers pick up litter.  Since 2009, they have removed 2,284 bags of trash from Wrightsville Beach.  You can follow along with them on their blog WB Keep It Clean 

When Tracy found that piece of coral it made me think about how it's a lot more fun finding beautiful mementos of nature than it is to find plastics and other trash.  As my friend Ginger says: 

"A clean beach means a healthier ocean in which sea turtles and other life can swim and live and play freely."

20 minutes on May 16, 2013 at Access 39

Litter by weight: 3.7 oz

Cigarette butts: 14

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 185 days:

54,926

Our Daily Ocean: Day 148

This morning, after I dropped my kids off at Airlie Gardens for camp, I decided to do something out of the ordinary for my 20 minute beach clean ups.... a morning beach clean up!  There was little activity happening... so little, in fact, that it reminded me of being at the beach at the end of the day.  Another great time to be there enjoying the beauty of one of my favorite places in the world...

During sea turtle nesting season, the beach is walked very early every morning  by WB Sea Turtle Project volunteers.  As the volunteers look for turtle tracks, many also pick up litter.  Walking the beach this morning, I couldn't help but wonder how much litter had already been picked up before me.  The volunteers are doing an awesome job helping Keep Wrightsville Beach Clean AND finding tracks!  There are currently 2 sea turtle nests on WB!!!

More news!  On Tuesday, the Town of Carolina Beach voted unanimously to draft an ordinance to ban smoking on the beach!  The town council plans to vote on the ordinance on August 14!  This is very exciting because if the council decides to vote in the ordinance, Carolina Beach will become the first smoke-free beach in North Carolina!!  YAY!!!

And when it comes to making a change... when it comes to making a difference... it doesn't matter where it starts....just as long as it starts.  The ball is rolling, the possibilities are there and change is happening... how awesome is that?

20 minutes on July 12, 2012 at Access 19

Litter by weight: 2 lbs 6.7oz

Cigarette butts: 210

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 148 days:

47,899

Our Daily Ocean: Day 143

World Oceans Day.  A day to celebrate and give thanks to our oceans for all they provide for us... which is a lot more than a nice view and good surf.  Yes, today I did a beach clean up.  How could I not?  But, that was just 20 minutes.  Most of my evening at the beach, I sat stretched out on the sand watching the waves roll in and my kids play in the surf... taking in the salt air and loving that I get to live where I live.

"I find myself at the extremity of a long beach.  How gladly does the spirit leap forth, and suddenly enlarge its sense of being to the full extent of the broad, blue, sunny deep!  A greeting and a homage to the Sea!  I descend over its margin, and dip my hand into the wave that meets me, and bathe my brow.  That far-resounding roar is the Ocean's voice of welcome.  His salt breath brings a blessing along with it."  ~Nathaniel Hawthorne

Good news on World Oceans Day... President Obama proclaimed June 2012 to be National Oceans Month.  He writes:  

"President John F. Kennedy once told us, "We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea -- whether it is to sail or to watch it -- we are going back from whence we came." During National Oceans Month, let us celebrate our heritage as a seafaring Nation by instilling an ethic of good ocean stewardship in all Americans."

"For in the end, we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught."  ~ Baba Dioum 20 minutes on June 8, 2012 at Access 39 Litter by weight: 15.5 Cigarette butts: 94 Straws: 5

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 143 days: 

45,624

Our Daily Ocean: Day 100

I went to the beach with every intention of not doing a 20 minute clean up.  You see, I knew my next clean up would be my 100th... and I had big plans for #100.  I had been thinking about it for awhile... I really wanted to invite people to come out and join us for the momentous clean up... but sometimes things don't happen the way we think they should.  As I sat on the beach eating my dinner and snapping photos of the seagulls flying all around us, my husband said, "Look, there's a girl back there picking up litter."  Sure enough, I looked.  Then I paused and said, "Hey! That's Susan!"

Susan is a volunteer with the Wrightsville Beach Sea Turtle Project and contributes to the WB- Keep It Clean blog where she shares not only the litter she picks up, but also the treasures she finds!  Seeing Susan on the beach, made me change my mind about my 100th clean up... I mean... as much as we go out to Wrightsville Beach, we hardly ever run into people we know.  This was a rare event that I couldn't pass up!!   (Guess I'll have to do something for my 101st clean up... ;) )  In our 20 minutes at Access 40, Susan picked up 128 cigarette butts.  I'm adding that amount to the Wrightsville Beach Community Count (found on the sidebar)... THANKS Susan!!!

Another rare find at the beach last night: a horseshoe crab.  My daughter spotted it and I was super excited that she immediately knew what it was!  All those visits to the NC Aquarium payed off!! ;)  Did you know that horseshoe crabs are considered living fossils?? AND... that they actually are more closely related to spiders and scorpions?!?  Really amazing animal!!  Now, of course, it was no longer living... but it was still super cool to find on the beach especially considering I had started to wonder if they existed in the wild since I've only ever seen them at the NC Aquarium.

 On October 1, I'll be at Wrightsville Beach Access 4 volunteering with Ocean Cure for Life Rolls On: They Will Surf Again.  If you'll be in the area, learn more and register to volunteer here.  

On the same day (and same access), Surfrider Cape Fear Chapter is going to be having a beach clean up to mark the beginning of RAPtoberfest!!  What's RAPtoberfest??  Well... Surfrider will be dedicating the entire month of October to organizing beach clean ups and passing along tips to RISE ABOVE PLASTICS!!!  Bonnie, Ginger and I will be setting up our litter awareness art to help raise awareness to the amount of litter found on the beach... especially plastics!  So come out and see us!!!

20 minutes on September 15, 2011 at Access 40

Litter by weight: 1 lb 7.5 oz 

Cigarette butts: 163

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 100 days:

35,104

Our Daily Ocean: Day 98

Friday night was a SUPER exciting night!!  Moments after doing our 20 minute clean up at Access 36, we walked a bit north on the beach to see a Loggerhead sea turtle nest excavation!!!

It was so amazing seeing the teeny tiny baby sea turtles make their way to the ocean... and being there to witness this event solidified even more how important what we are doing really is...

One of my favorite sites for learning about sea turtles is SEEturtles.org.  If there was anything you ever wanted to learn about sea turtles... that's the place to go :)  By the way... did you know? 

It's estimated that only 1 in 1000 sea turtle hatchlings will make it to adulthood.  (...whatever it is that we can do to help them make it to adulthood... I feel like it's our responsibility to do so.... "No thank you plastic _______.")

Hatchlings use the natural light horizon along with the white crests of the waves to reach the water when they emerge from the nest.  Any other light sources such as beachfront lighting, street lights, car lights, camera flashes, etc can disorientate the hatchlings and send them in the wrong direction. (That's no bueno!)

Sea turtle hatchlings have a long road to adulthood... the moment they emerge from the nest, they have natural predators-- ghost crabs, birds, dogs, raccoons, fish, etc-- to scoot and swim past.   ...And once they make it... they now have to contend with deciphering between what is edible food and what is our completely unnatural toxic trash.  (Only WE can change that.)

Rewinding a bit:  On Thursday evening, we met our friend Sean with the Surfrider Foundation at Wrightsville Beach Town Hall with all 33,989 cigarette butts we've collected off of Wrightsville Beach.  Sean presented to the Board of Aldermen about micro-litter (specifically cigarette butts) on WB.  He ended with asking the board to revisit the idea of banning smoking on the beach...  

Only time will tell what the board decides to do with the information that Sean presented to them.  In the meantime... we'll still be heading out to Wrightsville Beach... doing 20 minute clean ups and counting cigarette butts.

20 minutes on September 9, 2011 at Access 36

Litter by weight: 2 lbs 10.6 oz

Cigarette butts: 193

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 98 days:

34,182

Our Daily Ocean: Day 96

After 11 days, my husband and oldest son are back from their vacation to Alaska and back to helping do our 20 minute beach clean ups!!  Since they were gone so long, they missed out on Hurricane Irene and our record breaking clean up on Day 95 at Access 17. In case you missed it, my daughter, Bonnie and I picked up 2,026 cigarette butts!!  Naturally, my husband was bummed that he missed that and wanted to see if we could beat that record.  We didn't beat the record... but surprisingly we came CLOSE!!  This clean up marks the 2nd largest pick up we've ever had!!!  

Since we felt like we left A LOT behind on Day 95, we made the decision to go back to Access 17.  Low and behold the mess was still there, but with it was leftovers from Labor Day beach goers.  One of the greatest things about being at the beach around  AT sundown-- we made it to the beach fairly late... around 7:30 PM and the sunset was A LOT earlier than we expected-- is that it is completely obvious what things have no ownership.  Boogie boards to water bottles... we found them last night.  By the way, the Wrightsville Beach Sea Turtle Project is wrapping up their season... that means their morning walks for turtle tracks and talkin' trash are nearing an end for the season.  While the numbers are still coming in, they've picked up an astonishing 663 grocery sized bags full of litter from WB.  If you haven't checked in on their blog in awhile, go stop by! :) Wrightsville Beach-- Keep It Clean

Every 20 minute beach clean up we do, I weigh the amount of litter we pick up (minus boogie boards and chairs) for The Daily Ocean Community Count.  After weighing last night's haul, we've officially picked up over 200 pounds of litter off of Wrightsville Beach!!  WOW!!!  Talk about having proof that taking a little bit of time to clean up our world can make a HUGE difference :)  

20 minutes on September 5, 2011 at Access 17

Litter by weight: 6 lbs 14.6 oz

Cigarette butts: 1,879

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 96 days:

32,356

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

Our Daily Ocean: Day 18

After I posted my first Our Daily Ocean, my friend Sara who writes The Daily Ocean blog wrote: 

"Looks like Danielle and The Bait Tank need to link up huh?!  I'm on it."

Nearly 2 months after Sara wrote those words, I was back visiting her in Santa Monica when we met up with Mark (The Bait Tank) to do a 20 minute clean-up in Santa Monica (Lifeguard tower 26, Ocean Park to be exact ;) ). 

On Saturday, almost exactly a month from when I was in Santa Monica, Mark made a trip to visit us in Wilmington!!  Of course, we had to do a 20 minute clean-up :)  

Oooppsss... I totally completely utterly forgot to take a picture of the access... this picture is was taken on Oct. 12.

It was such a beautiful day... the skies were perfect... bluest of blue with big fluffy clouds.  Really it was the kind of day that you just sit at the beach and do nothing besides watch the waves (yeah, it may have been beautiful... but it certainly wasn't warm!!) When we originally walked out onto the beach, I didn't have my buckets with me... I was thinking that I would just show Mark Access 16, because I really wanted to go to Access 20 (that's where my family and I picked up 1,833 butts)... BUT as soon as we got to the high tide line Mark was stunned at how many butts were at our feet.... we just had to walk back to my car to get the buckets... 

 Ok... first things first this was Mark's first time at a North Carolina Beach!!!!  AND....besides my family... Mark is the first person to do a clean-up with me!! YAY!!  (That being said, I think that I talked more than usual and forgot to take pictures and such...another oops!)  There's always next time....

Besides obviously being enamored with how beautiful our beaches are...Mark had a lot of things to say about the amount of cigarette butts we were picking up... I really wish that I had a recording of all of his comments as he picked up butt after butt after butt after butt...."holy s**t" was a common phrase.  To say that he was shocked would be a complete understatement.  SO... it makes me wonder... when tourists come to Wrightsville Beach (or our other beaches that we took Mark to.... like Carolina Beach or Kure Beach)... what do they think??  Is the beauty of the beach blinding OR do they see what we see??? Hmmm.....

My friend Ginger of the Wrightsville Beach Sea Turtle Project  has been doing 20 minute clean-ups at Wrightsville Beach as well.  Last week she sent me the "butt count" that she got from around Oceanic:  251 butts!! (Those butts--along with others-- have been added to the "Community Butt Count" on the sidebar) 


Ginger also sent me a video of a WB local who takes his own broom, dust pan, and garbage bags to clean up the area he runs at WB... no surprise... he finds the same things on the streets of WB that I find on the beach strand-- cigarette butts:

20 minutes on November 6, 2010

6.8 oz of litter

407 cigarette butts

Total amount of cigarette butts picked up off of Wrightsville Beach, NC in 18 days:

8,117