Rebecca Johnson, 29, of Fort Myers Modern Service for Home and Business cleans up Bonita Beach during the International Coastal Cleanup Day on Bonita Beach as beach goers read and sleep in their beach chairs.
Chuck Noonan, 51, volunteered to help clean up the Bonita Beach shoreline as part of a International Coastal Cleanup Day but he was hoping to find much more than trash on Saturday.
“I’m looking for treasure ... gold rings, jewelry,” said Noonan, of Fort Myers, while hunched over collecting aluminum shards.
Noonan didn’t find valuables but pitched in alongside more than 100 volunteers who collected plastic bottles, fishing line and cigarette butts.
“You do it to bring attention to the importance of cleaning up the beach and it makes Bonita a better community,” said Councilman Ben Nelson who sponsored the event after the Bonita Beach Improvement Association cancelled it in August.
“They just needed somebody to be here and semi-organize it,” said Nelson who got Buffalo Chips, Royal Scoop and Doc's Beach House to provide volunteers with food and snacks.
“I’m a boater and I’ve seen how bad the water has become in the last 10 years,” said Renee Byars, 38, who sits on the Keep Lee County Beautiful board that organizes cleanups and documents what is found. “Collecting the trash will keep the waterways clean and remind people to do their part.”
Last year, an estimated 5 tons of garbage and 300 pounds of recyclables were collected at the cleanup, according to Keep Lee County Beautiful. Final totals from Saturday weren’t available but organizers expected to do as well this year as last.
Elizabeth Lind, 18, is passionate about the environment and felt compelled to help.
“It will help the animals and people because some of the things I found can be dangerous,” said Lind, a sophomore at Florida Gulf Coast University who collected five pounds of trash including cans, an old T-shirt and socks. “Things that shouldn’t be here.”
Keeping the trash off the beach also is important for tourism and local beachgoers. “I can see a big difference and it’s great that they are helping clean up,” said Joanne Welsh, 60, of Bonita Beach while sunbathing and reading a book.
She has visited the beach a few times a week for four years. “We live here year round and it matters to everyone,” she said.
Since its inception 21 years ago, the coastal cleanup, which also includes Lovers Key State Park’s beaches, has become an annual event in the city.
Marge and Dave Ward began Bonita Beach's coastal cleanup in 1986 as a way to improve the somewhat neglected beach. Marge Ward handed over the volunteer project to the BBIA last year.
“This is fun ... we should come out here on our own and do it,” said cleanup volunteer Gale Rymarczuk, 26. “This really makes a difference.”
