The Tacoma Shoreline Survey took place last Saturday, in which approximately 140 volunteers documented debris on Tacoma city beaches, then cleaned it up. It was a great day and a successful effort all around, with a total of 1,057.25 pounds of garbage removed from almost 13 miles of Tacoma shoreline. We collected good data for most beaches (there were a couple spots where coverage could have been better), but overall, what we got will help with future cleanups and give us a better picture of what is out there and where exactly  it is.

Thanks to so many for all they did to make it such a wonderful day: event partners South Sound Surfrider and Tacoma Metro Parks for the fantastic job of running their beaches and keeping their energy levels high; the Bamford Foundation for its support of this annual effort; the City of Tacoma, Sustainability Office, for the dumpster (big game-changer this year); Zeno and Mike, the “Salmon Beach Navy,” for motoring out to get the bags and larger items from some of the more remote sections and Bob and Earla, for the much-needed ground transportation.

To Amelia Abernathy, thanks again for the planning assistance and keeping things in line. Thanks also to Nga Tran, JoAnn Moore, Karen Povey and Zach Hawn for their pre-event help and to Surfrider volunteers, Ranell and Kris Nystrom and Lucas Drawdy, who kept things going smoothly all day at the HQ on Ruston Way. And so many others that it would take too long…

Because, at the end of a busy and worthwhile day at the beach, it was successful because of every single volunteer who made it happen, who took time out of his or her Saturday to give something back to the community and the environment. Participants were old and young, for some of them it was the first time they had ever done anything like this. Others were veterans of previous beach cleanups that hiked, climbed and kayaked to some of Tacoma’s most beautiful and iconic waterfront spaces and left them looking better than when they arrived. A heartfelt, “Thank you and well done!,” to each of you.

It will happen again next year.