If you love Bandon’s parks and beaches, this weekend is your opportunity to give back and help keep them as beautiful as they are. This Saturday, September 27, all are welcome to join in the SOLVE Beach and Riverside Cleanup, part of the International Coastal Cleanup and National Public Lands Day. Each year, thousands of volunteers in local communities from all over Oregon work with local waste haulers to remove litter from beaches, rivers, parks, and neighborhoods. Over 110,000 volunteers have removed 1.5 million pounds of litter since 1984!
Bandon is proud to participate in this important state-wide event. Individuals wishing to help can choose from two projects or split their time between them.
If the park is your passion, join others at Bandon City Park in cleaning up general debris, planting trees and shrubs, and planting native plants. Clean up activities run from 10-1. Meet at the park on 11th Avenue to participate. Parking anywhere at the park, and meet at the south side of 11th Ave. near the center ballfields.
Coordinator Michelle Hampton is happy to answer questions and give more information. She can be reached at 541-347-2437, ext. 231. For registration questions, contact Kathleen Boyle at 503-844-9574, ext. 332 or 1-800-333-7658, ext. 332, or visit SOLVE’s Bandon City Park Cleanup website.
If you prefer to help on the beach, meet first at the Bandon City Park gazebo between 10-1 to learn what kinds of debris don’t belong on the beautiful ocean beaches and need to be removed, get your supplies, and then head to the beach to get to work. SOLVE and its partners will provide gloves and bags, Washed Ashore and Oregon State Parks will pass out supplies, assist with paperwork, and haul away items that litter our beaches. Washed Ashore will keep much of the debris for use in their next sculpture. Bandon Transfer and Recycling will be donating their time and services to haul and dispose or recycle the debris.
Community volunteers for the beach cleanup project are advised to bring clothing appropriate for the weather, a refillable water bottle and an old colander to sift small bits of plastic and other trash out of the sand. Remember that although beautiful, the beaches can be dangerous, so please do not climb on logs with water around them, and take care not to turn your back to the ocean.
For information, contact Kathleen Boyle at 503-844-9574, ext. 332 or 1-800-333-7658, ext. 332 or visit SOLVE’s Bandon Beach Cleanup website.
SOLVE is a non-profit organization bringing together individuals, business groups, and service and conservation groups through volunteering and education to restore our natural spaces and take care of our amazing state. Originally called S.O.L.V. (Stop Oregon Litter and Vandalism), SOLVE was created in 1969 by Governor Tom McCall and other community leaders to address the need for community action in a state that had always been beautiful and whose population was quickly growing. Today, their mission remains the same as they tirelessly work to clean up and restore a variety of natural sites.
Many thanks to SOLVE, Oregon State Parks, Washed Ashore, Bandon Transfer and Recycling, and the many volunteers for setting up this project. It looks like it will be a dry day for cleaning our beaches and park; so grab a friend or your family and come on out to help!
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