Scores of beachcombers fanned out across the shores of Martha’s Vineyard on Saturday, for the 32nd annual Earth Day beach cleanup event, coordinated by the Vineyard Conservation Society.
Clear blue-skies and springtime warmth brought trash pickers out in droves that morning, spreading out to 28 locations in all six Island towns.
“It’s been busy,” said Martha Klein, a volunteer with the Friends of Sengecontacket. She was out on State Beach that morning, handing out gloves, bags, donuts and hot chocolate. “We’ve had two dozen so far this year.”
For other volunteers, though, Saturday’s event was just business as usual. Frank O’Laughlin, who scoured the grass and shrubs on the pond side of State Road, said he is out picking up trash two times a week, year-round.
“I’m retired and I don’t want to see this place trashed,” he said. “It’s not just a tourist problem. You can tell tourist trash from year-round trash.”
Mr. O’Laughlin isn’t the only year beach scourer on-Island. The Vineyard Conservation Society’s Beach Befriender group heads out on the fourth Sunday of every month to clean up many pounds of waterfront litter.
At noon, the volunteers converged at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum for the second annual Earth Day celebration. There, local conservation organizations set up tables inside and out to present their work, while hungry beachcombers enjoyed sandwiches and shellfish.
Before the celebration commenced, Aquinnah Wampanoag tribal elder Carole Vandal gave a land acknowledgment, and a musical performance on the flute and drum.
“Every day, I give thanks for being here and for being on this land,” she said. “We recognize that very deep life that has been given to all beings....Until we do that, we’re not being human, the humans we need to be.”
Comments
Comment policy »