Island Clean Up Day A Success

Thank you to the 45 island volunteers who made a difference on Island Cleanup Day last Saturday. Approximately 120 cu. ft. of debris and huge smiles were brought back to the Schoolhouse Park. 50% of the island shoreline and approximately 10 miles of island roadways are now cleared of trash. Groundfloor Guemes and the Community Center agree with the comments heard from volunteers: "This was a good thing to do" and "this was fun"!

Volunteers were rewarded with a tray of delicious chocolate chip cookies, provided by one of the volunteers, Julie Hopkins. Mark Linnemann served up free grilled cheese sandwiches and french fries from the DIGS Kitchen food truck parked at the Community Center.

37 people signed up through Volunteer Spot. Others just showed up at the park and still others brought trash from their own roadways and beaches. The debris included everything from tires and Styrofoam to rope and rusted metal. Lots of plastic items were retrieved, including small plastic shot-gun shells, small enough, many reported, to be a hazard to shorebirds and marine life.

The county helped with this project by providing bags and tongs and by removing and disposing of the collected debris.

Great weather, low tides, and the use of the VolunteerSpot signup button placed within the Linetime article about the Cleanup Day all contributed to a very successful island project.

A pair of woman's sunglasses, left on the signup table at the Schoolhouse Park awaits it's owner at 360-299-3230.

 

Save the date: June 19th for the Summer Solstice Strawberry Sundae Sunday Social, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Proceeds will support the purchase of a new emergency generator at our Community Center as well as the Welcome Packet project.