week 4 John and Terri find a pretty clean zone 1 plus a few paw prints

Ginger,

 

      Terri and I have nothing significant to report and that's good news when we're talking trash on the beach.  We picked up only about 1/2 bag of assorted plastic (sand bucket bail handle, food wrappers, sand toys, cups, etc.) and were pleased there was so little.  We did see plenty of dog footprints in the sand.

Joy in zone 5---where do dogs go when the bars close? Could it be the beach?

Hi Ginger

 

This is Joy reporting on Zone 5 for the last two Tuesday. 

 

5/15 - Picked up one plastic grocery bag of miscellaneous trash.  Pieces of paper, plastics, straws and the like.  Lots of marsh grass around.

 

5/22 - Picked up just a few pieces of plastic, paper and a toy shovel.  Also some broken beer bottle glass.  :- (.   There were, however, 3 different sets of dog tracks all over zone 5.  I have notified Shannon but he thinks that they are coming out after the bars close. 

 

Hope this weekend sees more thoughtful people.

week 3 - John & Terri appreciate the rhythm of sea turtle season

Ginger,

     Terri and I made our first visit of the turtle season this morning.  The beach and the sunrise were beautiful but there were no turtle tracks to be seen.  Unfortunately, we did see and picked up the equivalent of about two Harris Teeter disposable plastic bags of trash.  Among the items were plastic and foam beach toys, cigarette butts, cigar filter, small pieces of lumber, a brick shard, plastic straws, one flip-flop, and plastic storage bags.

     The good news was that there was no big trash like umbrellas, broken chairs, etc. but that probably has more to do with the fact that we're still not in the heart of the beach season.  We did encounter two girls with a leashed dog.  I informed them about the prohibition on dogs on the beach and they indicated they were not aware of the law.

     At one point a familiar jogger from past years appeared reminding us of one of the rhythms we enjoy about the beach. 

John Littlejohn

Nancy's last two days before foot patrol---an amusing read!!!

Hi Ginger,
 
Yesterday, the beach was a mess!  You could definitely tell it was the weekend.  I disposed of seven bags of trash, which included four balloons, and lots of cups, cans, bottles, sand shovels, and plastic wrappers.  In addition to that, I also found two chairs, a wad of fishing line,

 one towel, one styrofoam cooler with the lid & cans and wrappers scattered all around it, one set of keys, seven people sleeping, and one dog a-walkin'.  The chairs, towel, and cooler with scattered trash were all disposed of.  The people sleeping were reported to the police, and the dog with human in tow were reminded they should not be on the beach.  
 
The most bizarre sight of the day was a chair found at the south end.  It had been partially burned! 

 It had the long fishing line tied to it with two raw chicken legs attached.  Gross!! 

 I made sure the fishing line and chicken were buried in the trash can so the birds could not get to it, then I had to put the chair next to the can since it would not fit inside.  I was a bit perplexed at the use of raw chicken legs for fishing (Eeewwww!), but the consensus is the people that left this mess were likely crabbing.  
 
This morning, I collected four bags of trash including lots of cups, wrappers, sand shovels, and two balloons.  I also disposed of one towel and one broken  sand pail.
 
I have enjoyed my early morning rides during the last two weeks.  Along the way, I've marveled at sights of beauty and wonder, and at others not so much. 

The strangest discovery was a recliner I found on the beach near JM Pier last week.  Now that is relaxing at the beach!! 

 Though I tried and tried, I just could not fit it into one of the garbage cans.  :)  Someone managed to remove it from the strand, though, because it was gone the next day.  Geez!!!
 
That is it for patrolling via 4-wheeler and the volunteers begin foot patrols tomorrow.  I will miss my morning rides, and will be hoping for an early morning phone call about the discovery of tracks on the beach.  Here's to a nest very soon for Wrightsville Beach!
 
Best of luck out there, everyone!

May 11 & 12--In case you did not know, Nancy does not wear pink hats :-)

Hi Ginger,
 
Yesterday, May 11th, I collected 2 1/2 bags of litter from Wrightsville Beach.  This included five balloons, several styrofoam and plastic cups, plastic wrappers and cans.  Some of the lifeguard stands have yellow caution tape wrapped around them.  This tape is getting blown and torn down and I have cleaned the plastic tape off the beach for the past few days.  
 
In addition to the bags of trash, I disposed of two frisbees, two towels, and a wet suit top.  
 
Today, May 12th, the beach was more littered and I am already dreading tomorrow.  I filled three bags with trash which included another dirty diaper (Yay!), lots of cups, cans, and wrappers.  A lady was walking her dog on the north end very near the ropes of the bird sanctuary.  I reminded her that dogs were not allowed on the beach and that there would be a very fat fine if she was caught.  Mostly, I was worried she was too close to the birds with her dog and that she was causing a problem for the nesting parents.  She acted as though she did not know about the "no dogs allowed" rule, and prepared to leave the beach. Thank goodness!  
 
I also fished a chair and pink hat off the dunes on the south side of Station One and put them in the garbage cans.  There are several other chairs I think were left behind on the beach, so if they are still out there tomorrow, I will put them in the trash, as well.
 
Two days of riding left to go!!

May 9--Nancy finds condoms and dog poop on beach

May 9th:  Once again, there was quite a bit of trash to be found on WB this morning.  I collected four bags of trash, including a balloon, a pair of shoes, lots of plastic wrappers and cups, as well as a used condom and the empty wrapper.  Yuck!  (The condom was scooped off the sand with a plastic toy shovel also found on the beach this morning.)  A lady actually stopped me to report her sighting of this particularly disgusting item.  She then said, "People are pigs!"  Ya think??  :)

In addition to the four bags of trash, the following items were taken to the trash cans:  One blanket and the empty half gallon of vodka next to it.  Can you say OUCH???  One large glass bottle; sandy contents unknown, three beach chairs, one towel, one shirt, and 1 1/2 pairs of sandals, and a partridge in a pear tree!

On the south end, I found a very large hole/trench that had been dug up the side of the dune, under the roped off area, and into the bird sanctuary.  This was very upsetting, and I could only hope the thoughtless people that invaded the birds' refuge did not cause any harm or the abandonment of a newly laid nest.   Ugh!!  This was later reported to Lindsay Addison of Audubon so she could assess the damage to the dune and any potential disturbance of the nesting birds.

Just before leaving the beach, a visitor from Tennessee saw me collecting trash near JM Pier and had the following to say:  "It is horrible how people here just trash this beach!  I can not believe folks just get up and leave behind all this litter.  I have had to clean the beach of trash before finding a spot to place my beach chair in the sand. "  Oh my.  Is this really the impression we want to make on our visitors?   

My last observation of the morning involved a lady on the beach with a German Shephard that was doing his business in the dunes.  She must have been in an awful hurry 'cause she didn't even bother to pick up after her pooch.  Double yuck!!

Here's to a nest very soon for WB!

Nancy

week 16--a nice note to all from the dedicated Kathleen Holly

All the volunteers have done an awesome job. I've seen visitors picking up;  they deserve a star, as they, too, contributed to the BIG BLUE BINS... my BBB.  It is heartening, and I think you share this when others recognize the importance of keeping our beaches clean.  Roscoe has been the ambassador of why this is important..  


Lots of dog tracks the last few days.  Wish there were more money in budgets for better surveillance .. tickets are the only deterrent to ending dog poop on the beaches.  I think I found people poo on the trail near the inlet side a week ago (I sure hope not; picked it up).  Quite a few times I've seen campers in tents above the high tide line on the beach (7am and tents are zipped closed; bottles around tents).  Serious yuck.  I called the WPD; they came; I saw them talking to campers.  Campers stayed.. 


Got soaked in the rain yesterday doing the turtle walk.. picked up tee shirt, man's drawers, 4 bottles, fish hook with line, cover for umbrella, candy wrappers and baggies and a girl's flip, no flop.  3/4 gal bag.

  
Kathleen

Joy finds 7 foot escarpment in zone 5--please use caution when walking

Below is an email from Joy about the huge escarpment on the south end close to the jetty.  Please be careful if you are walking out there.  Joy did embed a picture, but unfortunately I have not been able to post it to the site (though I have tried and I will keep trying & I will send it to you all via email).  I did notice that the escarpment was also featured on WECT last Wednesday.  I would like to include the video, but am not able to find it on their site.  Wednesday was the date of our excavation for nest 1, so I was leaving the house as the video was being featured on the news.  If any of you are able to find the video, please send it to me.
Thanks.   ginger


Dear Ginger

Sorry I have not sent my trash collections reports for the last two weeks.  If it can still be used I collected one grocery bag full each week (total 2).  Today I also collected one full grocery bag.  Mostly miscellaneous plastics and paper.  A couple of beer cans and bottles.  One disgusting used diaper (really people)  Surfboard wax.  I have been meaning to bring this item up.  I know that when the surfers drop their wax on the sand it can't be used but please pass the work that it should be discarded.  That wave will wait.  There was also evidence of a dog, meaning tracks and poop.  Our zone 5 nest looks quiet and no new turtle tracks.  Don't know if you have noticed the 7 foot escarpment by the jetty.  That could almost be dangerous, especially if you are drunk.






Joy Miller

week 14--Kathleen H. collects 1/2 bag of cig butts in zone 5

Am walking again tomorrow am.. and am sure there will be more finds.  Yesterday besides assorted kiddie toys, dinosaur, pail, pair of flip flops (new), included a towel, dirty boy diaper, fishline with hook, string, string with balloon piece, half gallon bag of cig butts. plastic baggies.  lots near the Oceanic pier..  cigar butt, bottle caps and bottles (total 2 gal).. and.. the piece de resistance.. half of a fishing net; weighed about a lb.  big..  No bras or undies.


PS at 6:30am came upon a guy in the inlet near the Coast Guard dock, shampooing himself and his dog.  I told him the ranger was nearby and there was a fine for dogs on the beach.  Told him Carolina and Topsail did allow leashed dogs and wished him a good day.  He thanked me.. but as I walked away he began calling me names; started off with 'treehugger'.  I kept walking and the voice and name calling escalated into names I can't write here.  I called the police.  don't know if they came..


have a great weekend.     
Kathleen

week 12 Kathleen Holly meets other beach cleaners at Oceanic Pier

While doing my walk and picking up debris, met a family of visitors picking up trash around the Oceanic Pier.. it was prisitine when I left thanks to them.  Jane, Steve and Ann Arnet.  Didn't ask where they were from.  As a confirmation project Ann was picking up trash.. This week they each picked up many bags of trash.. So we could add their cache into our.  I picked up 3 bags this am.. fishing line with hook, bottles, cans of minute maid, dorito bags, empty bait pkg.  I saw a young man come in near Acess 40 the past three mornings with a German shep around 6:50am.  Also met up with 2 teenagers with their dog; a black mutt.. told them there was a huge fine which I think would make the parents unhappy.  They took the dog off the beach.  Met a group taking photos in the dunes.. suggested to avoid the $500 fine they might want to go to the nearest access and take pics from the path.  

We did good this am.. alas,  saw strange marks that might have been from something dragged.. but not tracks.. no ghost crabs near the south end nest either. ..  

week 10 Joy finds 100 fireworks casings & dog tracks & tents

Ginger

Well on the positive side, it was not as bad as I was expecting.  No turtle tracks either.  I picked up 2/3 of a 13 gallon trash bag full of plastic wrapping from fireworks, remnents of fireworks, (3 bags)

plastic bottles, beer cans, plastic bottle tops, pair of shoes, etc.  Weighed about 8 pounds.  There were two cabanas up near lifeguard # 13 which had previously been reported.  I reported again.

  Three sets of dog tracks.    Lots of areas where people felt the sand was their on personal ashtray.  

Along the high tide mark I found about one hundred of the 3 inch plastic fireworks casings.  I am sure there was more.  I picked up as much as I could find.  About 100.  It was hard plastic and where it had exploided it was very sharp.  It will be very unpleasant for the unsuspecting foot.

Our nest at the south end though was undisturbed, thank goodness.

Have a good day, Ginger. 

Joy

week 7 Kathleen Holly zone 5--2nd day

amongst the other adventures.. ie the couple and friend with an unleashed retrierver.. who peed and pooped..    Found 2 full gallon bags of the usual food stuff..plus little boy underpants, a sanitary napkin (in the surf; eeekkk), and toys... and a full opened pack of unsmoked cigarettes..  (20 cigs)

Susan--41 bottle caps and 1 cool sun hat!!

Hi Ginger,

It was yet another lovely morning in Zone 3 today.

 Contrary to the norm, I did not find any large items, such as flip flops, clothing items, towels, or chairs. There were plenty of small bits of litter, though! I picked up a total of 1 bag of trash, and filled half of my large reusable bag with recyclables (which is equivalent to 2 grocery bags of recyclables).

My dog Tiesto helped me sort through the litter after I returned home. It must have all smelled very interesting! 

Collected items included:

5 beer bottles
7 aluminum beer cans
158 cigarette butts
41 plastic water/Gatorade bottle caps
5 plastic water/soda/iced tea bottles
1 plastic dog toy
1 tennis ball
5 plastic spoons
1 plastic fork
3 styrofoam cups
11 plastic straws
4 plastic sand toys
1/2 bag of assorted paper and plastic trash, such as granola bar and candy wrappers

Particularly gross items that I threw away immediately at the beach were 2 dog poops and 1 dirty diaper. The biggest surprise to me of the day was the 41 plastic bottle caps. I have a feeling there were a lot more that I missed, too, because they tend to blend in with shells sometimes.

 I also found a very large, flawless Olive shell that is quite a beauty.

Has anyone else ever met the gentleman who cleans the restrooms at 7:30 am at Johnnie Mercer's Pier? He wears a cool sun hat and is very nice.

-Susan Miller

week 7 Kim Meyer and Celia zone 1

In Zone 1 for Sunday, June 12th, approximately 6 bags of trash were collected.  Several buckets and toys were also found.  My walking buddy, Celia and I placed them up by the lifeguard stand so perhaps they will be reused.  There are several large holes as well in that area.  Just hoping the buckets and shovels aren't used to contribute more holes!

We collected 7 water bottles and only 2 beer bottles.  You can tell when the heat starts taking its toll!  All the usual items were found today: discarded plastic bags, paper towels, handy wipes, wrappers, etc.  We did pull 2 beach towels and 1 blanket out of the sand as well. 

The trash cans close to the dunes appeared to be either empty or about 1/4th full.  However there were several around the major access points (Duneridge area) were cans were overflowing.  I hope they empty cans on Sunday morning otherwise there would be no room for sunbather's trash today.

We did find one woman on the beach with a black lab mix running wildly off-leash through the dunes.  Celia ever so politely spoke with the woman about the nests at CB that were destroyed by dogs.  The woman very politely thanked us for collecting trash on the beach, regained control of her dog, put the leash on and exited the beach.  The woman indicated she lived about a block from the beach which made me wonder how she did not know of the leash law and restricted months for which dogs could be on the beach.  Perhaps she was new to the area.  However it was one of the first things I learned as a pet owner living on the beach in the 80's. 

week 6 John & Tammy zone 2

Ginger,
            During my walk of Zone 2 yesterday, I picked up about 3/4 of a plastic grocery bag of trash. I was kind of excited that it was only 3/4 of a bag, but then it hit me that it was 3/4 of a bag. That’s like getting excited because gas dropped to 3.61 a gallon.
Tammy and I try to let people with dogs know that dogs are not allowed on the beach this time of year and they could get fined. We’ve been told the same “Yeah, but we’re out with them early” response as well as “Well, they don’t enforce it anyway.”

John

KIC Newsletter June 11, 2011

HI KICers!!!

I am so proud to be a part of you guys.

So far, you have reported collecting 147.33 bags of trash and you just keep on "KICing"!!!!  Please view the updated blogsite:  wbkeepitclean.blogspot.com.  If you have not sent in your reports, please do so and I will add to our totals.

I do have two tidbits of news that I want to share in this email.  One is frustrating and one is hopeful.  So I will post the frustrating news first:


Dog Destroys Sea Turtle Eggs on Carolina Beach
A sea turtle nest at Carolina Beach was predated by an unleashed dog this week.  The dog destroyed at least 20 of the eggs in the nest.  Please click on this link to read the article and view a picture of the predated nest:

Dogs are not allowed on WB from April 1 to October 30.  From October 30 to March 31st, dogs must be leashed and owners must have a bag with them so that they can clean after their dogs.

Please understand that I love dogs and I understand why people want their dogs to be able to play on the beach.  However, dogs have a very keen sense of smell and very strong natural instincts to dig up, chew, roll in, eat, lick, etc. anything they think smells good.  And usually no amount of owner's commands can deter this very undomesticated type of behavior.  They just can't help themselves.  So, dogs will certainly be able to smell a freshly laid turtle nest and will surely find it irresistible.  This is a very good reason for dog owners to follow the WB ordinance and keep dogs off the beach during nesting season.

On our blog this week, you will read John and Terri Littlejohn's email in which they approached a dog owner who told them she thought she was out early enough that she would not get caught!


Now for the Hopeful News:
Injured Leatherback Sea Turtle Gets Help Digging Her Nests
Please click on the link below to meet Clover, an endangered leatherback sea turtle who has had both of her rear flippers severed by a shark.  Clover is unable to dig her nests, so volunteers on Juno Beach, Florida watch for her and help dig her nests when she comes ashore.  So far, this year, she has laid 7 nests on Juno Beach.  http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/06/11/injured.leatherback.turtle/index.html

Thanks for all you do.

Keep It Clean,
Ginger

week 6 John & Terri zone 1--Dogs on the Beach

Hi, Ginger--

It was a "buggy" morning on the beach!

John and I collected approximately two grocery bags of trash, including:

--black rubber gasket, about 5 inches in diameter
--2 men's tee shirts
--1 rusting beach chair
--1 child's top
--1 pair men's good quality flip flops
--2 beer cans
--1 champagne cork
--numerous water and soda bottles, and bottle caps
--candy and plastic wrappers
--bandaids
--fruit rinds
--tissues
--1 medium sized plastic toy bucket
--2 toy shovels
--1, one-quart oil can which had obviously been in the ocean long enough to be sprouting some sea life
--many plastic cups and 1 plastic fork
--one woman walking dog; she said she was aware of the prohibition but thought she was out early enough not to get caught

There was a fair amount of litter at Shell Island, enough to be seen glittering in the sunlight from a distance.

Terri

week 3 (tues 5/17) John & Terri zone 1

Ginger,

     I picked up one plastic bag (grocery bag size) of trash this morning. Items included shoes and plastic toys.  I also saw an unleashed dog and a beach canopy.

week 3 (mon5/16) John and Ginger zone 4

We entered our zone at access 32 and first thing John said was: "there are no trashcans".  He was right, there were cans at that access last year, but not yesterday.  We started picking up trash immediately and not just small micro trash, but large pieces that you could see from the dune line.  It makes me curious if the lack of cans at that point was  a reason we saw an accumulation of trash there???  I'm not sure, but am curious.


I did see a dog taking a poop ( see my comments below).  I have to say this is difficult for me b/c I love dogs and I like dog people, but poop at the beach is not a good thing.  Also, dogs could be very dangerous to nesting turtles or freshly laid nests.


We used reusable bags so I had to do a conversion when I got home to calculate how many plastic grocery store bags of trash fit into one reusable bag.  This is what I found out:  1 very full reusable bag will hold 3 plastic grocery bags of trash----if not filled very full, it is more like 2.5.


John and I therefore picked up 3.5 bags of trash.


Our treasure was a really good wine opener and two cloth dinner napkins (comes in handy since I am trying to use cloth napkins more vs. paper ones)  :)


Our trash: (you know I kept, sorted and ananlyed----that's why Dick calls me TQ) :)


lots of sandy gross plastic and paper stuff that I didn't identify


1pair of very large psychodelic worn out flip flops
1 braided leather belt
1 styrofoam cup
1 mylar balloon that said Happy Mother's Day (I guess it was the match to Nancy's)
2 balloon strings
1 balloon remnant
31 food wrappers and/or containers
2 plastic cups
3 plastic cup lids
5 paper beer coasters that had blown off Oceanic Pier (there were more to be gotten, but I ran out of time)
3 fireworks remnants
2 ziplock bags
2 plastic bags
1 plastic bottle
3 plastic spoons
18 toys or toy pieces
1 plastic 6-pack holder :(
25 bottle caps
23 straws
2 cigar tips
10 cigarette butts (saw lots more, but no time to pick those up when looking for turtle tracks)
1 metal rod?
1 dog poop---I saw the dog in the act, very kindly informed the owner of the fine and gave him one of the plastic bags I had found as litter on the beach so he could pick up the poop, which was right at the shore and water had already began to wash over it.  The owner was very friendly and did pick up the poop.