On September 28th, I attended a beach clean-up in Ocean City sponsored by Water Watch, one of Stockton’s leading environmental clubs. Water Watch offers many eco-friendly volunteer opportunities such as stream monitoring, campus cleanups, and non-native invasive plant removal. They are dedicated in keeping Stockton green and allowing students the opportunities to put together their own service projects that are tailored to their interests. The Beach Sweep is a casual event where a group of students would get together and pick up trash along the boardwalks. This was the first event I attended as a member of Water Watch and I was very excited for a day out on the beach with friends. We were given trash bags and durable gloves and were told to just walk along and find as much trash as we can. I had no complaints; it was a beautiful day which just added to my feeling of satisfaction of cleaning up the beach.
Our group happened to be comprised of all Honors kids. We spread out underneath the boardwalk, which was not as littered as expected. Although that was a good thing, we wanted to have an impressively-filled garbage bag. We literally would flop down on our bellies and shove ourselves underneath the narrowest parts of the boardwalk in order to grab a single plastic spoon. This meant much cursing and wincing due to the abundance of spiky plants that liked to cling to pant legs and ankles. Unfortunately, we didn’t keep in mind that garbage bags do not do well when being dragged around filled with broken bottles and jagged pieces of wood, so our bag was on the verge of splitting wide open before we met up with another group. We all were sporting pretty hefty loads of trash, which was a job well-done for all of us. This was eye-opening, considering how earlier we believed the beach to be pretty clean. One or two pieces of trash every few feet wasn’t much to look at, but by going along big stretches of the boardwalk we were able to fill 3 large garbage bags.
What I found pretty great were the interesting things people picked up as they searched the beach. We found different colored sea glass, a horseshoe crab shell, and a dead monarch butterfly. It was a little morbid, but still was very pretty. What I found great about this was not in the objects themselves, but rather, the way we can all be caught in the beauty of the simplest things. It was very cool being around people that cared for the environment and who enjoyed the simple and honest things such as good weather and perhaps even just a smooth stone they found. It made me like Stockton all the more because I can encounter those moments just by walking to and from classes, since we are located within a nature reserve. If all people were to just take a second and look around them in admiration, I bet that they would think twice before throwing a plastic bottle on the ground. Otherwise, people seem to just walk around campus and leave their trash anywhere they please, because they have better things to do than walk five feet to a trash can.
Not only was the day spent clearing away trash, it was also spent clearing the mind. I know that may sound a tad contrived, but I really believe that if people were to do some task that may seem menial such as trash clean up, they are able to reflect on it, and see the bigger picture. This down-time gave me a chance to breathe and enjoy the sun as we worked to make the beach clean and beautiful for everyone. I saw people watch us pick up bottles and cans, and I hoped that they saw the importance in what we were doing, because this was also about spreading a message. Definitely the best part of the day was when a husband and wife saw us with our garbage bags and they thanked us for spending our time cleaning up, while reaching into their own pockets for trash that they had picked up themselves to add to our collection. So if anyone is interested in a club that has many branches to fit your interests, yet is rooted in compassionate values about the environment, Water Watch has it’s arms open wide for new members.