Beach Week will Close Tomorrow, But Not Until We Finish a Herculean Effort

It's been a very long week starting last Thursday at The Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Preserve when we kicked off an effort to clean the Greater Bridgeport Shoreline. And tomorrow when the clock strikes 2, Beach Week Cleanup 2010 will come to a close.

But before it does, we have one more assault to wage on the trash and debris that blankets our coastline. While we were cleaning one side of the refuge, we discovered an island and an inlet in the Great Salt Marsh that is no doubt one of the most neglected sites in all of Fairfield County.

Click on photo to see a satelite view of this location.

We saw foam billets by the hundreds, plastic bags and bottles by the thousands and enough Dunkin Donuts Cups, Duchess Wrappers, and McDonald's straws to wallpaper the Grand Canyon.

This discovery, much like the Storm last week that washed so much trash up on to shore, was a unique happenstance because of the first ever occurrence of Beach Week 2010 when we already had a host of cleanup efforts in the works. And with the final day of the week-long "Olympics of Trash Clean Up" still unscheduled, we knew exactly where to send the more than 150 volunteers scheduled to come lend a hand.

So tomorrow at 10AM, CCB and a host of other groups, individuals and organizations will arrive at the end of Long Beach Boulevard in Stratford. (600 Long Beach Blvd for you GPSers) There we will enter the Great Salt March and like a line of army ants, move the huge collection of debris to our staging area for municipal pick up.

Gloves, boots, hats and jackets will all be advisable as the Marsh is wet and muddy and the temps are expected to hover around 40 with a stiff easterly breeze. Also Garbage bags are in short supply as is water, snacks and anything else you will need- so please plan ahead.

Please call 203-382-3661 for more info and we will see you in the morning!!