The Martha's Vineyard Times

Hundreds of Islanders clean Martha's Vineyard beaches

By Whit Griswold
April 20, 2011

Photo by Ralph Stewart

From left, Angela Vezzose, Lindsey Mercier, Mason Mercier, Ruby Mercier, and Peter Vincent at Bend in the Road Beach on Saturday morning. [More Photos]

Plastic wrappers and other light items were probably hard to find during Saturday's beach cleanup, which is organized anually by the Vineyard Conservation Society (VCS).

By noon, it was blowing so hard out of the southeast that standing up was a challenge in some locations. Still, more than 300 dedicated picker-uppers did their thing at 22 beaches around the Island, filling almost one reycycled grain bag per person. Plastic containers dominated the haul, unsurprisingly.

VCS was delighted by the turnout and the amount of litter collected, even though it was a trifle compared to environmental pollution worldwide. "Small acts of environmental action not only teach awareness but also help ward off the feelings of helplessness and apathy caused by the sheer size of the global environmental challenges we must face together," said VCS in an entry to an upcoming newsletter.