The Manhasset Bay Protection Committee is hosting two Spring Volunteer Beach Clean-up Days: Sunday, April 3 at Manorhaven Beach Town Park, and Saturday, May 7 at Bay Walk Park, both in Port Washington. Both events start at 9:30 a.m. This is the first time the Committee is hosting spring beach clean-up days, as they previously only hosted one clean-up in the fall to coincide with the annual International Coastal Clean-up, sponsored by the Ocean Conservancy. The single-day event generally draws between 90 and 100 volunteers, including Scout Troops and collects over 200 pounds of trash.
The events are sponsored by the Northeast Chapter of the American Littoral Society, the Manhasset Bay Protection Committee, the Town of North Hempstead, and the Village of Port Washington North. Participants will tally the trash collected and that data is sent to the Northeast Chapter of the American Littoral Society, which tracks and monitors changes in the trash collected each year. Information about the amounts and types of trash collected has been used to create legislation around the world.
If interested in participating, registration is encouraged, but not required. You can email committee Executive Directo Sarah Deonarine, at mbpcExec@gmail.com or leave a message at 516-869-7983 with your contact information and how many will be joining you. Participants should also be sure to check their email and/or the committee website the evening before a clean-up in case of cancellation.
The Manhasset Bay Protection Committee is an inter-municipal organization aimed at addressing water quality and coastal issues in Manhasset Bay with a coordinated, watershed-level approach. The committee has 15 member municipalities: Nassau County, the Town of North Hempstead, and 13 villages who all voluntarily entered into an inter-municipal agreement. The committee’s goals are to protect, restore, and enhance Manhasset Bay so as to ensure a healthy and diverse marine ecosystem while balancing and maintaining recreational and commercial uses. Tasks that help toward these goals include the annual volunteer beach clean-up.
—Submitted by the Manhasset Bay Protection Committee
