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three women pose with trash pickers and bags at a beach cleanup in Seaside

05.26.24

Earth Month Recap 2024

Surfrider Oregon volunteers celebrated Earth Day in a big way this year, with cleanups stretching up and down the Oregon Coast!

Students from Driftwood Elementary kicked off Earth Day weekend with a cleanup in Port Orford on Friday, April 19.  While the beach was already pretty clean (they collected two lbs of debris), the 4th Grade class enjoyed getting out there with former Oregon Field Manager, Bri Goodwin.

Volunteers with the Coos Bay Chapter returned to Bastendorff Beach, and cleared an incredible 300 lbs of trash!

In Newport, Beach Captains hosted cleanups at four beaches around the city- Agate, Nye, Otter Rock, and Yaquina Bay State Park .  An impressive 187 volunteers collected 730 lbs of debris from the central coast!

Port Orford - Driftwood Elementary 4th Graders - PC Bri Goodwin
1 4th grade class from Driftwood Elementary in Port Orford (Photo: Bri Goodwin)
volunteers with mattress in Newport
2 Volunteers in Newport found this mattress on the beach and used found rope to drag it back to the parking lot!
Newport earth day
3 A lot of kids came out for Earth Day cleanups in Newport!
newport bcu toilet seat
4 A surprising discovery was made by a volunteer on the beach - a toilet seat.
brownie troop in newport
5 A group of girl scouts from a local troop in Newport decided to join us for Earth Day.
newport earth day trash haul
6 Newport Chapter volunteers gathered quite a bit of trash from the beach!

And in Seaside, the North Coast Chapter hosted their first beach cleanup in two years, attracting 93 participants, and collecting 159 lbs of trash from around the Cove.  We loved seeing teens from Tongue Point and the East Portland Teen Force join in!

The Portland Chapter kept the fun rolling after Earth Day with their Spring Oswald West Action Day.  Joining forces with Oregon State Parks and Trailkeepers of Oregon, they used the rainy weather to identify drainage issues on the trail leading to Short Sands Beach.  Despite the storm rolling in, a team of 40 volunteers cleared trails, started a memorial bench installation project, and cleared 76 lbs of trash from Shortie’s!

Doug and Jesse pose with trash in burlap bags
1 North Coast Chapter leaders Doug and Jesse pose with their haul.  Thank you to Sleepy Monk Coffee Roasters for donating used burlap sacks so that we can cut down on plastic!
north coast chapter volunteers celebrate earth day success
2 Volunteers from the North Coast Chapter come together to celebrate Earth Day in Seaside
Portland Chapter volunteers huddle together for post-action day prizes and brews
3 Portland Chapter volunteers huddle together for post-Action Day prizes and brews despite the rain

 

All in all, Surfrider Oregon Chapters welcomed 358 volunteers to our cleanups, and we were able to remove 1,267 lbs of debris from our beaches!  What a way to show Mother Earth some love!