Tails from the trail and tips on training your human

Some of our beaches and the oceans are in deplorable conditions. They resemble landfills more than they resemble beaches now. We have to take immediate action, or else, in a few years, the oceans will be clogged full of trash, and our sandy white beaches will be no more.

Here are a few things that we all can do to play our part in being responsible citizens and save our beaches.

Take Care of your Trash

As they say, change begins at home. You can’t preach to the people about keeping the beaches clean when you yourself are contributing to the dirtiness. It goes without saying, take care of your own trash. Do not leave food items lying around. Do not throw beer bottles and cans on the beach. Pick up whatever you brought, gather them in a small trash bag, and carry it home with you to dispose of responsibly. If everybody started minding their own trash, we wouldn’t have much of a problem to deal with either.

Reduce Plastic Usage

Plastic is our planet’s enemy. It stubbornly stays on the earth long after its use and long after we have passed away. It is ugly to look at for us, but it is downright deadly for our plant and ocean life. Plastic doesn’t biodegrade, but it does break down into tiny little pieces that are eaten by our fish, eventually killing them. Sea birds, turtles, and other gorgeous ocean life get stuck in plastic bags and shoppers and suffocate to death. If that is not enough to rouse you to action, know that plastic has found its way into our food chains as well. We are consuming micro pieces of plastic along with our water and water, and it does not bode well for us.

Join a Beach Clean Up

Beach cleanups are super fun. Not only are they brilliant for the environment and get so much more done than any organization can do on its own, but they are also fun and a great way for you to exercise and socialize. Join a beach cleanup happening near you on your local beach and lend them a hand in cleaning up the place. It is your beach as much as it is theirs, and you owe it to your community to help out as well. If there are no beach cleanups happening in your area, you can always take the lead and organize one yourself. Get your friends to join and go around your neighborhood to convince them to come together for the greater good as well.

Adopt a beach

You can take it up a notch and adopt a certain patch of the beach to care for as your own. You can take ownership of what’s going on at the beach and take it under your wing. You can organize beach cleanups here, recruit other people to help keep it clean, and organize activities that help to spread awareness and better habits among the locals. If everybody adopted a certain part of the beach and took care of it, we would all be in a much better place, and it wouldn’t even require so much effort, as people would only be responsible for cleaning up certain small areas of it instead of cleaning up large sections of the beach.

Raise Awareness

No matter how much we try to clean up, things will never change long-term until we educate people and raise awareness about how our littering is damaging the beaches. We need to change behaviors, educate our youth, and bring about a real difference. Until we do that, people will keep damaging the beaches while a small portion of the people keep cleaning up after them. We need to be proactive instead of reactive. Awareness and education are the only way forward.

Urge the Local Government to Take Action

Though individual actions can take us a long way, we all must urge our local governments to take this task upon themselves too. They must pass bills forbidding littering at the beach and make policies to protect and preserve the ocean and its wildlife. With strong laws in place, people can be held accountable if they go against the rules and harm the environment. Simple fines for littering can be imposed so that people think twice before tossing their empty bottles on the beach and leaving their trash for others to pick up. These people might not be concerned with the climate and environment, but they will, for sure, refrain from things when their money is at stake.

A government-organized cleanup would also make a larger difference because of the additional resources that the government has at its disposal. We must all write to our local representatives and urge them to take our beaches seriously.

Donate to Organizations

There are some organizations working to alleviate the conditions of our beaches. They are working tirelessly to save our beaches, and clean up our oceans, eventually saving millions of lives in the sea and on the land. These organizations are often running on limited finances and resources, even though the work they do should get the utmost importance and prominence. They need our help and support; physical, emotional, and financial. Help them out whenever and however you can. Raise awareness amongst people about what they do and how they are helping us without us even knowing about it. Urge people to donate to their cause so they can have access to better tools and resources to do their job more efficiently. By contributing to these organizations dedicating to cleaning our oceans and saving our beaches, we become a part of something so much bigger than ourselves.

Here are some organizations to join in the effort: www.happybreath.com/activism

by Bobby J Davidson

We are in business to provide great products for the outdoorsy hikers, campers and their dogs; and to help clean our parks, rivers and oceans for a better planet earth for hikers and their dogs.

Parks Clean

Parks are high-traffic areas in most cities. This means that trash is bound to show up in and around your park and playground.

When discussing ways your family can help clean your local park, don’t overlook a literal cleanup! Picking up trash will make a huge difference in the appearance and vibe of your park. A clean area will encourage others to keep the park pristine. When picking up trash and debris, make sure to wear gloves to protect yourself, and put trash in appropriate receptacles or lawn bags. You can also contact your local trash company to schedule a pickup when you are finished.

Rivers Clean

The storm drain on your street collects the water from your roof, driveway, and sidewalk and funnels it directly in your local lake or river. Nutrients from grass and leaves, pet waste, and fertilizers “enrich” our lakes and streams — feeding algae blooms and harming fish. Chemicals from washing your car in the drive and household chemical spills add up, taking a nasty toll on our favorite swimming areas and fishing spots. Soil can also be picked up by runoff, reducing the clarity of water and hurting fish.

So as you prepare your lawn and garden, here are a few helpful tips to keep our lakes and rivers beautiful and safe for all of us.

Use mulch and vegetation to keep soil from washing away.
Sweep or rake grass and leaves away from street curbs.
Mulch and compost grass clippings and leaves.
Keep paved surfaces to a minimum.
Capture water runoff with a rain garden and rain barrels.
Wash your car on the grass, where the water will get filtered.
Keep chemicals away from storm drains.
Collect your pet’s waste.
Aim your rain-gutter downspouts onto grass.

Beaches Clean (do it for the ocean)

In 2007, the United States Senate and House of Representatives passed the National Clean Beaches Week Resolution to recognize the value of beaches to the American way of life and the important contributions of beaches to the economy, recreation, and natural environment of the United States.

Clean Beaches Week, celebrated annually July 1-7, offers the perfect opportunity to encourage stewardship and volunteerism along our coastlines. But where do you even begin? Follow these tips to get started.

Identify a clean-up site. Choose a place that needs some TLC, making sure that volunteers can safely access the site. Get permission, if needed, for your clean-up event, perhaps from the local parks agency.
Choose a site coordinator. (That might be you!) A beach clean-up takes a lot of work and needs an organized person to keep everything on track before, during, and after the event.
Visit the site in advance. The coordinator will need to know where to set up a volunteer check-in station, where to leave trash and recyclables, and what area(s) volunteers will clean.
Gather supplies. Depending on your location, you’ll need supplies such as trash bags, a first aid kit, hand sanitizer, wipes, and large coolers of water. You should also provide (or ask volunteers to bring) items such as reusable work/garden gloves, reusable water bottles, sunscreen, and bug spray.
Plan how to handle the recyclables. Reach out to recyclers in your area (and perhaps your community’s solid waste departments) to make arrangements for accepting any glass, plastic, and aluminum that you collect.
Line up event partners. Contact local businesses for donations of drinks, food, and supplies. Ask a local solid waste hauler to donate their services for trash removal.
Plan for handling hazardous waste. Determine how you’ll dispose of any medical and sewage waste you might find. One solution: A wide-mouth container with a tight-fitting lid, such as an empty laundry detergent bottle. Clearly label that it contains hazardous waste.
Get volunteers to help. Recruit friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors. Create an event on Facebook and ask volunteers to sign up online. This will give you an idea of how many people to expect and will help communicate event details.
Stay safe. Be prepared for a variety of health emergencies, from minor cuts and scrapes to heat stroke.
Take photos! Post pics online to share the success of your event and recognize volunteers for their hard work.