“There’s a lot of plastic fragments,” said 14-year-old Sophie D’Souza, who volunteered at the Aug. 23 Lido Beach cleanup with her brother, 11-year-old Liam. “We found some gum and some Band-Aids.” The pair traveled from Roslyn to take part in the public cleanup session — the sixth consecutive monthly partnership between the Town of Hempstead and the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, rotating between Lido Beach and Point Lookout Town Parks.
In total, nearly 50 volunteers showed up at Lido Beach, despite a rainy start to the day. The crews organized and spread out, collecting nearly 120 pounds of human-made debris during the three-hour event. Larger items found on the beach, either left by beachgoers or washed ashore from the ocean, included a broomstick, a metal umbrella base and several planks of wood with rusted nails. Long Beach residents Robert and Krystal Sisko brought their daughters to the cleanup for the environmental experience, and for National Honor Society volunteer hours — Liana at Long Beach Middle School and Liahna at Long Beach High School and Long Island High School for the Arts.
The volunteer turnout wasn’t just for families; Individuals and organizations also turned out. Avery Estevez and his wife, Michelle, came from Elmont as part of an employee community engagement activity through Avery’s work at Timberland.
Last month, close to 90 volunteers met at Point Lookout and took more than 100 pounds of debris out of the sand. Two more monthly beach cleanups are planned for the area. On Sept. 26, the organization will return to Lido Beach Town Park for another beach cleanup to celebrate International Coastal Cleanup Day which will have taken place on Sept. 19. The season’s final local gathering will take place at Point Lookout Town Park on Oct. 25.
Each event will take place from 9 a.m. to noon, divided into two 90-minute sessions; participants are asked to attend only one session per day. Collection buckets and grabber tools are provided, but organizers recommend bringing gloves. For safety while patrolling the beachfront during cleanups, be sure to stay off the jetties at all times. Venturing onto the rocks is hazardous and beyond the volunteer requirements. To register for one of the remaining cleanups, visit hempsteadny.gov/856/beach-cleanups.