Volunteers set to clean on July 5
While Independence Day celebrators are waking up, many volunteers on Fort Myers Beach and the surrounding beaches will be cleaning up fireworks remains, residue and trash left over from the night before on Monday, July 5. To have some of Southwest Florida’s finest fireworks shows means there is a need to have the best voluntary services the day after the event to keep our beach clean and pristine.
Enter the many unheralded groups and individuals who come to the rescue from the former Fort Myers Beach Pilot Club -now called the Fort Myers Beach Community Foundation- to the Estero Bay Buddies, Lee County Parks & Recreation, Keep Lee County Beautiful, the Town of Fort Myers Beach and Veolia Environmental Services to the residents, neighbors and visitors who pitch in for the good cause. These unsung heroes of cleanliness will once again be walking the seven miles of beach, Bunche Beach Preserve and Bonita Beach Park with trash bags during the annual Fifth Of July Beach Clean Up from 8 to 11 a.m.
According to Alice Plaatje, a member of the Fort Myers Beach Community Foundation and a board member of KLCB, the hosts at the collection stations are Estero Buddies and KLCB at Bunche Beach, FMBCF and Lee Parks at Lynn Hall Park, FMBCF at Newton Park and Lee Parks at Bonita Beach Park.
“All collection stations will be (physically) on the beach front,” said Plaatje. “By doing that, we hope to get enough publicity to encourage people to help out. I believe in all the fireworks and I do participate, but we also need to remember of what’s left behind like fireworks debris, cans and food debris.”
This clean-up event began in 2000 by the local pilot club as part of its Adopt-A-Shore commitment. The other groups joined in during the past couple of years.
“We just began as a group of Pilots and did our section of the beach,” said Nancy Mulholland, current treasurer of the Fort Myers Beach Community Foundation. “Then the staff of Keep Lee County Beautiful said they wanted to get in on it too. Now, the whole island is getting clean.”
According to Lee County Parks & Recreation’s Vicki Little, many volunteers are being sought for the location closest to the fireworks display, which will be set off the Beach Pier. This need is compounded by the fact that the Town of Fort Myers is without a fireworks show this year.
“We’re in need of a lot of volunteers at the Lynn Hall Park site especially since they will not be having the fireworks downtown (Fort Myers) this year,” said Little. “We invite visitors and residents from all over Lee County to come on out to our beaches for the Fourth of July event. The invitation to them to come back the next day to clean-up is just as important.”
If you’d like to participate in the clean-up, call Keep Lee County Beautiful at 334-3488 or show up to one of the sites of your choice.
“It’s important to participate because our visitors really impact our beaches, and we want to keep them beautiful for everybody,” said Little. “All of the supplies will be provided including trash bags, gloves and bottled water. Make sure you wear a hat and sun screen. We’ll be happy to have as much help as we can.”
In the past, volunteers have found unused fireworks during their clean-up efforts. Lee County Parks & Recreation’s Terry Cain, who is the land stewardship coordinator for the county, applauded last year’s volunteers after the event.
“Everyone who came and pitched in did an outstanding job of making our beaches beautiful and clean for visitors and wildlife,” she said. “Many thanks to all who participated in the Fifth of July Beach Clean Up and a special thanks to the people who made it happen. The beaches of Fort Myers Beach and San Carlos Bay and Bunche Beach Preserve are brighter places to visit because of you.”