Summer Cleaning Is Here! Help us Clean Up the Beach

Feeling cooped up? Life in 2020 has kept us indoors a great deal due to COVID-19 . Our challenge to you is to get outside and head down to the beach (or your favorite park) on July 25. Here’s why:

Each summer, members of AMC and their families join together to pick up trash and help keep our local beaches clean. While COVID-19 is preventing us all from getting together this year, that doesn’t mean we can’t still make a difference!

We’re asking everyone to be a part of our beach and park cleanup in Montclair and throughout California. On July 25 (or another day this month that works best for you), head down to your favorite beach or park with your household members and pick up any trash in the area. If we each do this, we can make a big impact on our shores and parks! Here’s why you should consider helping out and how to get ready.

How Beach and Park Cleanup Helps

Cleaning up beaches and parks in Montclair and surrounding cities will be satisfying, helps wildlife and the economy, and is a good activity for a healthy lifestyle.

“There is satisfaction to say, ‘I removed ten pounds of trash from my beach,’” says Kara Lavender Law, a research oceanography professor. “Even if it’s only ten pounds, that’s ten pounds that isn’t going to go into the open ocean.”

In addition to protecting wildlife, “clean beaches provide economic benefit to local communities in the form of tourism dollars,” says Laura Parker at National Geographic . “In southern California, researchers calculated that in Orange County alone that potential could translate into $46 million in just one summer.”

Whether you head to Alma Hofman or College Parks or take a trip to Newport or Balboa Beaches, you’re making Montclair and the surrounding area more beautiful! And if you want to burn some calories, picking up trash can actually be a great workout!

Supplies You’ll Need for the Cleanup Event

Once you’ve nailed down a date for the cleanup—whether July 25 or another day this month—work to gather needed supplies :

How to Stay Safe during Cleanup

With COVID-19 guidelines still in place, your cleanup crew might be small this year. If you do decide to extend your cleanup invitation to those living in other households, please be careful to keep your distance. The CDC gives this advice : “When guests arrive, minimize gestures that promote close contact. For example, don’t shake hands, do elbow bumps, or give hugs. Instead wave and verbally greet them.” Also, in keeping with California’s mask mandate , if you can’t maintain a distance of six feet from others, wear a face covering to protect yourself and those around you.

So join us for our beach and park cleanup effort on July 25 or anytime during the month of July! Tag The Pines at Montclair in your photos and use the hashtags #AMCcleanup and #livehappy. Together, we can make a big difference while we take a break from quarantine to enjoy and beautify California’s beaches and parks!