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Surfrider Foundation’s first beach ‘combing’ clean up of 2020 takes place Sunday

Volunteers and members will gather trash at Cadboro Bay
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Mathilde Gordon and Daniel Greenwood clean up marine debris on a beach in Barkley Sound. A clean up, similar to this one, is being held at Cadboro Bay on Sunday. (Black Press Media file photo)

The first Surfrider beach clean up of 2020 takes place this Sunday at Cadboro Bay from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Surfrider Vancouver Island is part of a greater international organization of volunteers and was started 25 years ago in Malibu, California. Since then, the organization has spread to more than 15 countries.

The organization formed on the Island in 2009.

READ ALSO: Denman Island volunteers clean up at least eight tonnes of beach debris

“No matter where we are originally from, we now call Vancouver Island home and are focusing on ways of protecting and preserving into the future,” reads their website.

One of the ways the group works to give back is through a program called Combing the Coast, where members hold monthly beach clean-ups at different locations on the south Island. In 2018 alone, Surfrider members and volunteers helped remove more than 7,000 pounds of garbage off local shorelines.

READ ALSO: Greater Victoria beach clean up recovers 655 pounds of garbage

In addition to helping the planet, the waste collected is measured and recorded with the aim of developing a valuable data set that can help identify some of the main types of pollution found on local beaches. This information is then shared with stakeholders, becoming helpful when developing other campaigns and programs focused on pollution reduction.

Organizers will provide a bucket or reusable bags, along with gloves for those who wish to take part. Attendees are encouraged to bring a bowl or mug and a spoon for post-cleanup soup provided by Ed’s Soup Shack.



kendra.crighton@blackpress.ca

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