by Halle Smith and Valery Bedoya, reporters

Eastern Shore residents participated in the 37th Annual Alabama Coastal Cleanup on Saturday, September 21, at the Fairhope Municipal Pier. 

The Alabama Coastal Cleanup [ACC] strives to encourage people to get out in their community to help prevent trash from entering the waterways. 

“We’re picking up trash so it doesn’t go into the water and contaminate the Bay,” said Landrey Parks, a sophomore participant.

ACC assigned jobs and tasks to volunteers to complete, with the goal of improving the environment. Some jobs were completed at the beach and some were given at The Pelicans Nest, an elementary learning center educating children on the environment.

Sanitation trucks parked on the north side of the pier for easy disposal of the trash in the trash bags provided by the ACC.

Members of the Key Club volunteered, earning service hours while helping clean the environment.

“It was mainly a Key Club thing. I also love to help the environment,” Parks said.

Other local youth organizations and clubs like the Optimist Clubs Dogwood Trail Court participated in the event.

Businesses and organizations can sponsor the ACC to help with the efforts. Some notable sponsors of the 2024 ACC are The Band of the Porch Creek Indians, CoastAL, Ikes Beach Service, Flora-Bama, Bebo’s Express and Perdido Beah Resort.

The Alabama Coastal Cleanup has been a community affair for many years now.

“We have been doing it for well over 20 years,” said Paige Crawford, director of community affairs for the city of Fairhope.

Different people from different organizations come together for the common goal of cleaning up the beaches and saving the environment.

Over the past 36 years, the ACC has removed 1,779,911 pounds of trash from 6,939 miles of the Alabama Coasts.