Brunswick, Ga. – Brunswick community members and volunteers will gather to “sweep” the beaches of St. Simons Island on the morning of Oct. 27 as football fans head to Jacksonville, Fla., for the Georgia-Florida game. The community cleanup is part of the fifth annual Georgia-Florida Football Weekend Community Beach Sweep.
Between 5,000 and 6,000 football fans will gather on St. Simons Island’s East Beach on Oct. 26, an annual tradition that occurs the Friday before the Georgia-Florida football game. In years past, on Saturday morning the beaches have been littered with large amounts of waste-such as Styrofoam coolers, beverage cans and glass bottles-which pose a threat to marine life without cleanup efforts.
College students and football fans are asked to do their part-and to “stash their trash” in the provided beach trash and recycling containers and to refrain from using Styrofoam products, said Lea King-Badyna, a Glynn 4-H Advisory Council member and beach cleanup organizer.
“This year we are concentrating volunteer efforts on Saturday morning of the Georgia-Florida football weekend,” she said. “On this high-volume weekend, fans, civic clubs, church groups, youth groups and individuals are all invited and encouraged to come out and help keep our Georgia beaches litter-free. This is an opportunity for community members to make a big difference in preserving a healthy coast.”
Beach cleanup volunteers are asked to meet Oct. 27 at 7:30 a.m. at the old Coast Guard Station beach entrance boardwalk on St. Simons Island. Trash bags and gloves will be provided on site. Actual volunteer work time is anticipated at two hours.
The community beach sweep initiative is organized by the Glynn County 4-H Advisory Council in partnership with Keep Brunswick-Golden Isles Beautiful, Glynn County Parks and Recreation, Georgia Department of Natural Resources Coastal Resources Division, the UGA Cooperative Extension Office in Glynn County, the UGA Marine Extension Service and Georgia Sea Grant.
For more information or to participate, contact the Keep Brunswick-Golden Isles Beautiful offices at 912/279-1490.