Sea, Sand and Sky: Cleaning up Carson Beach with Blue Cross/Blue Shield

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Cleaning up Carson Beach with Blue Cross/Blue Shield

There can't be many better ways to spend a workday than cleaning up a beach on a beautiful, sunny fall afternoon. Save the Harbor was lucky enough to join nearly 100 BlueCrew members from Blue Cross/Blue Shield in a clean up on Carson Beach this Tuesday. This is just one of the many volunteer efforts of Blue Cross/Blue Shield as part of their Massachusetts Service Day projects.

The BlueCrew gathers to start the day of service

The crew was divided into 8 teams and scattered to cover the entire stretch of beach. I hopped in to join "Foley's Team," dubbed for group leader, Tom Foley of Somerset. We headed out towards the gazebo, working our way back towards the center of the beach. Our group had a great attitude, smiling and joking the entire day. Foley served as a great leader, eagerly pulling out weeds along the beach and cracking jokes with his peers.

Sean Sullivan, of Dartmouth, and Tom Foley, of Somerset, chatting and weeding

We were so efficient that we finished our area by lunchtime! There were roughly 10 bags of trash and weeds from our group by this time already. Our spirits were high and our tummies ready for lunch. But on the walk back to the beach house, a stray plastic bag started making its way towards the water. Odette Palmer-Lee of Boston quickly ran off to catch it, and returned with the grin of success on her face!

Odette Palmer-Lee captures her prey- a stray plastic bag!

After our lunch break, we continued our weeding efforts for the rest of the day before joining the rest of the teams for final reflections and much-deserved praise of the BlueCrew's service accomplishments. I think it's safe to say that everyone had a wonderful time spending their day chatting with friends, enjoying the weather, and working to make Carson Beach an even more enjoyable amenity of Boston.

"Foley's Team" with Chris Davis, Odette Palmer-Lee, Sean Sullivan, Claire Tigges, Tom Foley, Todd Linsky, Cori Linsky, and Holly MacMillan.

Jacqueline

Jacqueline Sussman

Policy Intern

Save the Harbor/Save the Bay

No comments:

Post a Comment

Welcome!

Welcome to Save the Harbor / Save the Bay's Boston Harbor blog "Sea, Sand & Sky".

Save the Harbor/Save the Bay is a non-profit public-interest Boston Harbor environmental advocacy organization whose mission is to restore and protect Boston Harbor, Massachusetts Bay, the Boston Harbor Islands, the Boston Harbor region's public beaches, Boston's waterfront and the marine environment and share them with the public, for everyone to enjoy.

Since 1986, Save the Harbor / Save the Bay has been the driving force behind the transformation of Boston Harbor from one of the dirtiest urban harbors in America to one of the cleanest in the world.

As a result of our advocacy, Boston Harbor has been transformed from a "Harbor of Shame" into a source of recreational, educational and economic opportunity and civic pride. Today the beaches of South Boston are among the cleanest urban beaches in the nation, the Boston Harbor Islands are a National Park, and Boston's waterfront has become a compelling destination for residents and visitors alike.

Working with a broad base of civic, corporate, government, scientific, philanthropic and community partners, Save the Harbor / Save the Bay continues to strengthen the connections between communities and the harbor, and promote the increasingly important impact Boston Harbor has on the region’s economy.

Each year Save the Harbor / Save the Bay runs 2 free Youth Environmental Education Programs that combine recreation and hands-on education to bring Boston Harbor alive for thousands of Boston area young people. Since 2003, we have connected nearly 250,000 youth and teens to Boston Harbor, the Boston Harbor Islands, our region's public beaches and Boston's waterfront.