I headed toward a classroom in the Arts and Sciences building where Water Watch, a club organized by Stockton students, was meeting for the first time this semester. I was not sure what kind of students to expect or what exactly the members of the club had in mind in terms of activities and goals. The club turned out to be an organization with the primary goals of learning about the environment and doing what we can to improve its health and continued sustainability. I found the interests of this club to be intriguing as I understand the value of our natural environment as well as the consequences it has faced due to the actions of humans in their quest toward industrialization and progress. All of the members were so nice and with the shared interests between us I knew that I would fit in wonderfully.

Immediately upon gaining interest in Water Watch, an announcement was made about an upcoming beach cleanup. This event was to take place only three days after the meeting and I signed up promptly for the September 28th, 2012 beach sweep in Ocean City. Everybody was so kind and inviting in terms of coordinating meeting places, compromising on a time frame, and assisting with transportation from Stockton to the beach location and back.

The students headed toward the designated location where the beach cleanup would be taking place. Everybody was handed gloves for protection and garbage bags for collecting the discarded trash that would be found along the beach surfaces. We then divided into groups and began our mission to locate and properly discard as much garbage as possible. It was absolutely amazing the quantity of human-generated debris that could be found along the beach surfaces, especially beneath the boardwalk. It was also quite riveting to observe the sorts of things people left behind; these included anything from empty bottles to cigarette buds to food packaging remains to broken toys to used diapers. I was in great disbelief at the quantity of garbage that was spotted within just the short period of an hour and of the specific content of the trash items.

As the specified time frame for the beach sweep was coming to an end, all of the groups collected together at the original point where we broke off originally. Each group had easily filled their entire garbage bag. Some people had even discovered some fascinating items such as a horseshoe crab molt. We all then proceeded to walk out onto the jetty toward the water to bask for a moment in the natural beauty of the ocean, take a group picture, and head back to campus.

This experience was fun, productive, and educational. We were able to contribute positively to the condition of the beach; however, it was deeply obvious that we had made barely a dent in the prevalent issue of beach contamination. People need to be more cognizant of their actions and the resulting implications. More people need to apply themselves towards reducing the already-existent contamination of the environment and continue this process to the point of changing one’s habits in order to help reduce future contribution to the destruction of nature and instead assist in its preservation. I am very excited for future beach cleanups as well as other activities that I will have the opportunity in which to participate through Water Watch in an effort to learn more about the environment and improve its condition for ourselves and future generations.