FMB coastal clean up committee
To the editor:
Season is here and so will be the incredible amounts of trash left on the beaches.?I propose a well-oiled machine of dedicated volunteers who care for the beaches’ health, appearance and well-being to our environment at large.
The FMB coastal clean up committee begins to meet every Sunday at 8 a.m., at the Beach Elementary School to gather trash bags, then hit the sand. We as group, will begin to comb our beach in unified lines to tackle a very serious issue on FMB as an island-wide problem. We as islanders must help! Help the city workers who are inundated with trash pick-ups. We must combat the violators who believe sadly that’s its ok to leave mounds of trash behind on our sandy beaches. The town workers are alone on this duty, while they must also find time to continue their many other tasks for FMB upkeep and maintenance. They are truly overwhelmed by the task at hand. They need our help as residents.
After all, this simple act is our responsibility as islanders to protect our beaches. All ages are encouraged to participate, as the message to the younger ones is simple: teaching responsibility and respect for our community while taking ownership for it. This project begins with us to ensure a better beach for our kids’ futures, tourism perception of our island and to take pride in the place we call home as year-round residents. If we start now and continue to set the example of the importance of clean beaches as a volunteer basis with all ages needed, wanted and welcomed, yet we also as a family of island coastal cleanup adults need to SAVE OUR BEACHES from pollution.
Now we are setting the tone for it become a normality to continue to act on the work needed to clean our beaches of FMB, as FMB. We will begin this community wide effort slowly, with every Sunday at 8 a.m. and to meet again on that same day at 5 p.m. to sweep the beaches again. Eventually, we will grow as a committee of concerned citizens and, with that, we will begin to extend the mission into a seven day a week format.
The only way for this idea to work, is through yourselves and your love for your beaches. It costs not a penny to care and be the change we all want for our islands appearance, health and image to not recognized as a “trashy beach.” I say this only because over the years I’ve spoken to tourists who have explained to me of how they have visited many of Florida beaches and always respond to me “why is there so much trash on these particular sandy beaches.” I’ve even heard one single mother on vacation refer to our town as a “ghetto” beach. That I cannot stand for without doing something to make that opinion change.
I encourage all of FMB to get involved this Sunday. Meet at the beach school to organize and let’s be the better tomorrow as a community for cause. If anyone has any questions about how, when, or why, please feel free to contact me directly at email address @ lowtidefilms@gmail.com or simply call me at 1-407-460-6452.
Without you, we continue to accept this unacceptable eye sore on our local beaches. Rather than cast blame, let us be the bigger people and little people of our island who are committed to do our part to save our beaches from the ignorance that will indeed be a force, known as the FMB coastal clean up committee. I look forward to your involvement and I thank you dearly.
John G Heim
Local clean beaches activist ?
Fort Myers Beach