Volunteer for a ‘Coastal Clean-Up’ at Old Lyme’s White Sand Beach, Rocky Neck State Park This Morning; Sponsored by Reynolds Subaru of Lyme

Coastal Clean-Up volunteers display the bags of trash collected from the beach at Rocky Neck State Park last year. This event was sponsored by Reynolds Subaru of Lyme. Photo submitted.

OLD LYME/EAST LYME — Are you concerned with the state of our environment? Do you want to help do your part to preserve our coastlines? Then join a volunteer coastal clean-up of White Sand Beach in Old Lyme on Saturday, Sept. 18, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. This event is part of Save the Sound’s annual coastal cleanup efforts, which are held every fall, and sponsored by Reynolds’ Subaru and Subaru of New England.

Last year 78 pounds of garbage were collected at White Sand Beach and Marie Ryan of Old Lyme was the Team Captain. She has stepped up again to fulfill that role for this year’s White Sand Beach Clean-up — contact her to volunteer or for further details at [email protected] or call her at 860-304-3334. Ryan told LymeLine that she is hoping to find around 12-15 volunteers.

The Connecticut Cleanup is part of the International Coastal Cleanup, which takes place each year during September and October. Volunteers remove trash and collect data that will be used to help stop debris at its source. Around 13 billion trash items were collected globally on International Coastal Cleanup Day in 2020.

Kendall Perkins displays a skull she found during a previous ‘Save The Sound’ Coastal Clean-up Day’ held at White Sand Beach. File photo.

Another opportunity to assist this effort is offered from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Rocky Neck State Park in East Lyme, where you can join Reynolds’ Subaru to help keep that Park clean. Trash items such as cigarette butts, candy wrappers, plastic bags, and gloves/masks are just a few examples of what can be found and removed with your help.

Volunteers will team up and not only collect trash, but also track data on the types of items you find. You can use the Clean Swell app, or paper cards that will be provided for you.

If you would like to join, or if you have any questions, reach out to Jared at Reynolds’ Subaru at [email protected] or call (860)434-0028.

There are additional opportunities to assist this effort beyond these local ones. Find a complete list of clean-ups throughout the state at this link, choose your beach and then register. Save the Sound will follow up with details about how to connect with your beach’s Cleanup Captain on the day of the event.

For more information about Save the Sound’s Coastal Cleanup program, visit www.savethesound.org/2021Cleanup or call Save the Sound’s Volunteer Coordinator, Annalisa Paltauf, at (203) 787-0646, Ext.116.