Saturday, April 13, 2013 was a beautiful day with the sun shining, blue sky, light ocean breeze, and around 180 volunteers converging on Hunting Island State Park for the first of two annual Beach Sweep events.
Our beautiful park is now relatively free of litter, a whole lot of palm fronds, and a lot of other debris as well.
A few examples of some stand-out work include: a couple on a boat who pulled 7 tires out of the marsh from Russ Point Landing to the marsh boardwalk. Land’s End kayak tours collected numerous bags of litter from the lagoon. Ten bags of litter were taken from around the lagoon by marines and Dataw Garden Club. Beaufort High Interact Club removed four large wagon loads of palm fronds from around the lighthouse store and picnic areas. One very ambitious couple raked pine needles at the Nature Center. The JROTC from Wade Hampton policed the Nature Center, Russ Point Landing, and Route 21. Great work by all!
Families came out with children of all ages to pick up litter. We are extremely grateful for the parents who are teaching their children to be great stewards of the environment. AMCC at Tri-Command was on hand and they cleared the Magnolia Forest Trail and Lighthouse Magnolia Connector Trail. Not only did they help to trim bushes, remove debris, and blow off paths, they also contributed $500.00 to the purchase of two new gas blowers. The Low Country Rotary were on the scene with their large cooker grill, and they grilled hot dogs and hamburgers for everyone. After all the hard work, that was some good eating!
Vicki Anne Nestor, Litter Director, Friends of Hunting Island, submitted this summary to Lowcountry Weekly.
