On Saturday, April 19, from 10 am to 12 pm, celebrate Earth Day by joining together to protect our Island environment. Head out to your favorite beach, and volunteers will be there with bags and gloves for collecting (or bring your own). When you’re done, drop off the trash with the volunteer group leader; let them know the strangest things you found, and you might win a prize!
Participating beaches
- Aquinnah: Lobsterville, Moshup, Philbin
- Chilmark: Lucy Vincent, Menemsha, Squibnocket
- Edgartown: Felix Neck, Fuller Street, Lighthouse Beach, Norton Point, South Beach (Left and Right Forks), State Beach (Bend in the Road), Wasque Point
- Oak Bluffs: Eastville Point, Jetty Beach, North Bluff (Pier) Beach, Shellfish Hatchery, State Beach (Little Bridge), Town Beach (SSA to Pay Beach and Inkwell)
- Tisbury: Lagoon Pond Landing, Lake Street (Tashmoo) Landing, Owen Little Way, Owen Park, Tashmoo Beach, V.H. Harbor (waterfront from SSA all the way to Shell Station)
- West Tisbury: Cedar Tree Neck, Lambert’s Cove, Long Point
Then continue celebrating Earth Day by attending the festival alongside your fellow beach cleaners at the M.V. Museum for the third annual Earth Day Conservation Festival. The event will be from noon to 3 pm, and will replace the traditional Beach Cleanup afterparty. Thanks to donations from generous local businesses, all beach cleanup participants will be served a free lunch, with free entry to the museum. Twenty local conservation organizations will be there with educational activities, prizes, games, music, and fun for all ages.
But wait, there is more! Participate in a trash contest. Yes, you heard that correctly. Make sure to save the coolest, grossest, and/or most unusual things you find on the beach and bring them to share at the afterparty at the M.V. Museum. If you can’t make it, post your find on Facebook or Instagram, and tag @vineyardconservation, or email us your pictures to info@vineyardconservation.org.
VCS thanks the haulers and the sponsors
A huge part of pulling off this event every year is moving thousands of pounds of beach trash to its final destination. Shout-out to the good folks at Bruno’s, the M.V. Refuse District, and all the towns’ staff (including DPWs in Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, and Tisbury) who over many years have donated so much of their time, as well as collection and hauling fees, to the cause. In addition, this year the VTA is again offering free rides to anyone going to the beach cleanup — hauling our most valuable resource of all!
Beach leaders also get a shout-out. Local organizations returning this year to work at designated beaches include the Lagoon Pond Association, Friends of Sengekontacket, Wampanoag Tribe of Aquinnah, Tisbury Waterways, M.V. Surfcasters Association, Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation, M.V. Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby Committee, M.V. Shellfish Group, MV Cub Scouts & Boy Scouts, Felix Neck, Harborview Hotel, MV Bank, and The Trustees.
Thank you to event sponsors Clambulance, Mad Martha’s, Scottish Bakehouse, Waterside, Mo’s, Great Harbor Market, Morning Glory Farm, and Back Door Donuts for all the delicious donations.
