~by Frank Gromling

February 20, 2012: Giving Nature a Hand

Flagler Beach

If you’re a regular reader of my wanderings you’ll know that I end each column with a request that you do something, anything, to help our natural world. Today’s column is about a perfect example of how people can come together to make a difference.

This past Saturday six residents of Beverly Beach conducted a litter cleanup along both sides of State Road A1A for a total distance of four miles. Last year my company, Ocean Publishing, adopted two miles of A1A from north Flagler Beach through Beverly Beach. At least once a quarter we do a cleanup of the road and every time I am amazed at the results.

L-R: Gerry Gersbach, Sue Cureton, Jim Ardell,

Martha Mathies, Larry Mathies

This week I had the help of five Beverly Beach residents, including two other Beverly Beach commissioners (yep, I’m actually an elected commissioner in my small town). We met at the Town Office and divided up the two miles of roadway: Commissioners Gerry Gersbach and Jim Ardell heading north, with residents Larry and Martha Mathies, along with Sue Cureton, taking the south mile. My job was to work with Gerry and Jim, with occasional checks back with the south team to pick up full bags, offer water and provide encouragement.

Jim and Gerry

We donned our reflective safety vests, took a trash bag and a recycling bag, and headed off. Our plan was to pick up every piece of litter, no matter how small. After almost an hour of work, without great headway, I made a command decision that we would stop picking up cigarette butts. You see, they were everywhere. Thousands of them! Really.

I told Gerry and Jim of my decision, which they received with big smiles, and left to share the plan with the south team. When I met with Larry, Martha and Sue and told them of the change, they laughed and said they had just come to the same conclusion. Teamwork at its best!

Sue, Martha and Larry

We happened to be near the southern end of our cleanup area and, lo and behold, guess what we found just 15 feet away from where we were standing?

Can you believe this?

In addition to unthinking and uncaring people throwing their cigarette butts (and other trash) onto the ground all along the road, someone apparently had dumped their vehicle’s ashtray onto the ground at one of the most scenic viewing areas of the beach. In this same area, along a sand fence the town had installed to help protect and rebuild the dune system, there were numerous beer cans strewn about.

All of us worked for two and a half hours for a total manpower effort of 10 hours. I thanked everyone, recovered the, oh, so fashionable safety vests, and headed off to take down the “LITTER CLEANUP AHEAD” warning sign provided us by FDOT.

My final stop was to tie the collected bags and place them at the pickup point near the FDOT sign.

Beverly Beach

We picked up an amazing amount of debris from the sides of the road: six bags of trash and one bag of recyclable material.

I often wonder what possesses people to throw trash from their vehicles or to drop cigarette butts on the ground. I wonder, too, what kind of upbringing they had. My parents would have skinned me alive for doing those things!

How do we get people to understand that what we throw on the ground, pour down the drain, and drop into the rivers and oceans destroys the very natural world we love? While the United States is one of the few countries in the world where conservation efforts actually exist, we have such a long way to go. So, every day, I ask everyone to find at least one thing they can do to make a difference and then take action to make it happen.

Just one thing, every day, by everyone would really produce incredible results. Will you join me?

Until next time…

Frank Gromling, Publisher
Ocean Publishing
www.oceanpublishing.org
386-517-1600 / Fax 386-517-2564
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Frank Gromling, author of Frank’s Whales and Tracks in the Sand, is the publisher for Ocean Publishing. He has been a volunteer leader for the Right Whale Survey Project since its start in 2000 and is the publisher for Jean-Michel Cousteau’s four-book series on National Marine Sanctuaries. Frank is an avid conservationist and public speaker who works diligently with many groups in the marine conservation arena.

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