Our Daily Ocean: Day 191

Not long ago, I went to write "I've been so busy."  ...and as those words started out of my head and onto the screen... I hit a mental delete and instead said, "my life is full."  And so goes, why I haven't posted in so long....

My life is full. 

As I spent so much time focused on the Wrightsville Beach smoking ban the past couple of years, it's been good for me to take a bit of time away from the beach this year and focus on other things including reading and gardening. But when I do make it to the beach, I find myself mentally rewinding to previous years beach cleanups.  I am grateful that I was part of helping create change at Wrightsville Beach... because with every beach cleanup I do... it's evident that the smoke-free beach ordinance is working.  

Comparing my 149th beach clean up from July 15, 2012 at Access 36 to July 15, 2013 at Access 36 there's a 69% decrease in cigarette litter post smoking ban! 

There are many things worth celebrating at the beach and yes... the smoke-free beach ordinance is one of them ;)  When celebrating while at the beach (or anywhere for that matter), I'd like to make the suggestion to always celebrate responsibly and with thought and concern for the environment.

Make memories, not trash.

20 minutes on July 15, 2013 at Access 36

Litter by weight: 4.7 oz
Cigarette butts: 41

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 191 days:

55,193

Our Daily Ocean: Day 190

Every Monday morning as the sun is rising, my friend Ginger walks a section of Wrightsville Beach looking for turtle tracks and picking up trash along her path.  She has been walking the same stretch of sand for the past 4 years... and on that particular stretch of sand is my family's adopted beach access 36.  On Monday morning just hours after Ginger, I did my 190th beach clean up... 

One may think that it's silly to do a beach clean up where someone else has already been... but the truth of the matter is that no one person can do everything.  Chances are even the most thorough person is going to miss something... depending on the light certain plastics become completely invisible in the sand.  ... or... because this is unfortunately the way it is.... chances are in such a short amount of time, something will be littered.

As much time and energy that I put into doing beach clean ups... I know that beach cleanups are not the answer to the litter problem.  They're only part of the answer.  Doing any type of cleanup is super important... especially when we take the time to connect our own purchasing habits with the products that we find littered.  We can become conscious consumers just by cleaning up our world.  Maybe we're not all going to try to make our own potato chips (yeah, I did that)... but what we can all do is choose the largest bag of chips and use a reusable container instead of a ziplock, use a reusable water bottle, refuse single-use bags, say "no straw please"... 

Every time we buy something, we're casting our votes for the kind of world we want to live in.  

20 minutes on June 17, 2013 at Access 36

Litter by weight: 2 lbs 7.7 oz

Cigarette butts: 33

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 190 days:

55,152

Our Daily Ocean: Day 189

The beach is a gateway to the ocean... and while large items such as plastic bottles, buckets, cups and such are easy to spot... the tiny plastic fragments, the clear wrappers, the shredded straws, and things like hair clips go completely unnoticed.  That is until we really open our eyes and start looking... and keep looking... 

What seems like such a long time ago now, my friend Bonnie of The Plastic Ocean Project said:

"...the problem with plastics in our marine environment goes unnoticed because most of it is underwater or broken down into small bits floating on the surface. Not that it takes a trained eye to see it; you just have to recognize that it’s there. Once you do, it likens to the "Magic Eyes" from the 90s. Remember staring at a random series of blotches until an image imbedded in the blotches could be recognized? Once your eyes discovered it, you could always see it. And you wondered why you hadn't noticed at first glance."

Her words have stuck with me throughout all of my beach cleanups.  A reminder of the importance to let my eyes focus on the variations in the sand... to pay attention to the details.

20 minutes on June 11, 2013 at Access 28

Litter by weight: 2 lbs
Cigarette butts: 20

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 189 days:

55,119

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 187

My kids whispered to me, "mom, mom... MOM.... that guy is trying to light a cigarette."  We were under Johnnie Mercer's Pier picking up litter.  There was a really nice breeze and as such the man was standing behind one of the pier pylons attempting to light his cigarette... and when he did, I took a deep breath and for the first time said, "Excuse me sir... this is a smoke-free beach."  

Speaking of smoke-free beach.  I've reached a little... err... big milestone.  This cleanup, I passed the 55 thousand cigarette butt mark.  Picking up 113 cigarette butts pushes the current tally to 55,082 cigarette butts removed from WB!  Thanks to everyone who has come out and helped do a 20 minute beach clean up!

Since beach season is in full swing, that means there's A LOT more people visiting Wrightsville Beach Contrary to what the above photo may trick you into believing, there were people everywhere on the sand and in the water on a Thursday afternoon!   A lot more visitors means that there's a lot more trash littered on the beach.  The beach needs all the help it can get.  Want to help clean up the beach?  Let's do it together!  

Connect with me via email DanielleLR55 [at] aol [dot] com or on Facebook: It Starts With Me

20 minutes on May 30, 2013 at Access 16

Litter by weight: 2 lbs 13.2 oz

Cigarette butts: 113

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 187 days:

55,082

Our Daily Ocean: Day 186

While eating dinner at Mellow Mushroom on Memorial Day, my husband asked me which access I wanted to go to do a cleanup.  I laughed and smiled to bring a bit of lightheartedness to the fact that I wanted to go to access 16.  Friends... what I'm about to share with you is important.  It's really hard to know where to start... so let me start with this:

Words and pictures will never be able to convey what we witnessed.  

 When we first got to the beach, we were immediately distracted by ocean rescue and a large crowd that were gathered by the pier.  I learned today that a boater ran into the pier with his 52' yacht.  As soon as we moved our eyes away from the scene and to the beach, we could hardly believe the mess that lay ahead of us.  To say that it looked like people dumped their trashcans on the beach wouldn't be stretching it.  There were more littered water bottles than we had ever seen... and as the tide was coming up littered plastics were washing in and out.

It was a sad sad scene.

We picked up everything that crossed our paths and went out of our way to get what we could from the incoming tide.  After only 8 minutes into our 20 minute clean up... my bag was overflowing.  I could have easily gotten overwhelmed.  It would have been SO easy to get mad and frustrated.  But I wasn't.  I told myself before we stepped onto the sand, "The trash on the beach is going to be bad.  That's why we're going."  And in the middle of staying focused on putting some effort into cleaning up a mess that wasn't ours, I realized something that made me smile and that gave me hope.

Claire found these sunglasses that brought out another side of her personality ;)

When my bag was full, I said to my family: "I haven't found many cigarette butts.  Just focus on cigarette butts and throw away the bigger stuff."  And we looked and we looked, but they really weren't there in the numbers we have seen in the past.  In 2011, when we did our Memorial Day cleanup we picked up 487.  This year? 43 cigarette butts in 20 minutes.  FORTY-THREE!!!!!!  No piles. None being uncovered by the incoming tide.  Just some stray littered butts.  Perfect?  Nope.  Better?  ABSOLUTELY!!

On instagram my friend Kate and purveyor of Landshark Skateboards captioned one of their photos with something I think is so worth sharing:

"Love the beach?  Care about marine life?  As soon as you set foot on the sand, both are your responsibility."

Let me remind everyone to not feel overwhelmed or defeated by problems that seem too big to make a difference.  Find a mantra.  Repeat it over and over again until you believe in it.  And when you waiver and second guess yourself.  Start repeating it again.  I say this:

I cannot do everything, but I can do something.  I will not let what I cannot do get in the way of what I can do.  

*I* am the difference.

 20 minutes on May 27, 2013 at Access 16

Litter by weight: 10 lbs 9.3 oz
Cigarette butts: 43

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 186 days:

54,969

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 184

On Earth Day, I hesitantly went to Wrightsville Beach to do an Earth Day Beach Cleanup.  I say "hesitantly" because the weather here had been really warm (almost summer-like), but over the weekend cold weather settled in with a chill.  But as uncomfortable as I was with the lack of warmth... Earth Day is the day to get out, explore, rethink, and do more.  So with my hoodie pulled tight to keep my ears warm, I began walking the beach and remembering my commitment.

Just as the New Year is a time to make resolutions, Earth Day is a day to resolve to do more to help protect and restore the world we live in.  It's important to take the time to remember (or even to learn) that we are all connected on this planet... and that what is bad for the planet is bad for us.  And what is inherently bad for us is bad for the planet.  Nothing is separate.  The air we breath is connected to the water we drink and the water we drink is connected to the earth on which we stand. 

 One thing that I haven't shared much about (or at all) on here is the local effort to help protect our air, water and children from the development of a cement plant in my area.  It's a grassroots effort that has been going strong for 5 years now and it's important that our community continues to stand strong stopping Titan for the health of our children, our families, our air and our water.  

On Sunday, April 28 @ 2:30pm come join the Stop Titan community at Tidal Creek Coop.  There'll be live music, speakers and good company.  For more info about the event: 

STANDING STRONG-- STOPPING TITAN

"Don't spend your precious time asking 'Why isn't the world a better place?'  It will only be time wasted.  The question to ask is 'How can I make it better?'  To that there is an answer." 

~ Leo Buscaglia

20 minutes on April 22, 2013 at Access 29

Litter by weight: 1 lb

Cigarette butts: 23

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 184 days:

54,912

Our Daily Ocean: Day 183

At the beginning of March, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to help kick-off "No Impact Week Greensboro" by giving a joint presentation on plastics and plastic-free living with Beth Terry and Bonnie Monteleone.   I have yet to share about the experience here... but I will soon because it was an amazing experience for me on so many levels.  One of the best parts of sharing what I do is connecting with like-minded people, inspiring them to do more and making new friends.  On Friday, (thanks to that event in Greensboro) I met Marie with her baby on her back and her 2 year old daughter in hand!

Marie was visiting Wilmington over the weekend and had emailed me to see if we could meet at Wrightsville Beach to do a beach clean up.  ABSOLUTELY!  I can't say enough how much I love having company with me at the beach.  Doing a beach clean up together is a great way to connect and make new friends.  Which by the way, all of the friends that I've made is my most favorite thing about having started these beach cleanups.

I'm also grateful for the insight that doing beach cleanups has given me about my own purchasing habits and the power I have to help create change.  Fed up with seeing the same products strewn all over Wrightsville Beach day after day, I've made personal changes to become part of the solution.  Plastic isn't so fantastic when it's used for mere minutes and thrown out.  There's an easy solution to plastic straws.  My personal solution is to say: "No straws please".  It takes practice, but it's really that easy.  Another solution is to use reusable straws.  Check out GlassDharma and Strawesome

Teaching future generations to care for our planet is another solution.

Kids of any age can help clean up our world.  Teach them to care for the places they love by doing a little clean up at their favorite park or beach.  

Cleanups are an easy way for kids to get involved in making a difference in our world.

...and that's exciting to be a part of.

20 minutes on April 19, 2013 at Access 16

Litter by weight: 1 lb 1.7 oz

Cigarette butts: 100

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 183 days:

54,889

Our Daily Ocean: Day 182

The temperatures pushed past 80˚ today and as my kids spent their afternoon at Airlie Gardens doing their science class... I made my way to our adopted beach access at Wrightsville Beach.  It's been what seems like forever (January 15) since I've been to Access 36 as I'm usually pretty tight on the amount of time I have... but today I had an abundance of time!

There's some big changes happening at Wrightsville Beach including the rebuilding of the weather-worn Crystal Pier.  Since the pier has been a part of Wrightsville Beach for over 70 years, I'm super happy that the pier is being repaired and rebuilt even though I'm not a fan of the litter that blows off the pier from Oceanic restaurant.  (hoping this year will be different!)

At least one thing will be different this year... and not to get excited too early... but today I had a record low cigarette butt count!!  25 cigarette butts in 20 minutes!  Ok... ok... I know peak season isn't here just yet... but I'm happy nonetheless.  Only time will tell if the smoke-free beach ordinance continually helps to significantly reduce cigarette litter at Wrightsville Beach.  I'm optimistic :)

20 minutes on April 9, 2013 at Access 36

Litter by weight: 1 lb 6 oz
Cigarette butts: 25

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 182 days:

54,789