Dr. Karen Bell
Keep Liberty Beautiful
Last week, Keep Liberty Beautiful conducted its Annual Beach Sweep on St. Catherine’s Island in Midway. Thank you to all the 52 volunteers who came out to help us clean up and make our community a little cleaner and more beautiful. Your efforts have made a significant difference in preserving the beauty of our coastlines for years to come.
A special thank you to all the boat captains - Jack Tripp, Michael Mack, John Woods, Alan Dean, Stephen Erb, Timmy Blount, Brett Jeffers, Robert Waters, Michael Friend, and Mr. Cook, who donated their time, boat, and fuel to transport our volunteers to St. Catherine’s Island. And a huge thank you to Half Moon Marina, in Midway, for supporting us every year and for being a great partner. KLB appreciates you all so much.
I was asked several times why we clean up the beach. Well, beach cleanups are a collective responsibility for the whole community. By cleaning up the beaches, it safeguards the environment and helps with the future, where the beauty of our coastlines can be enjoyed for years to come. I also found some reasons online, which I will share: Protecting marine animals: By removing trash (not burying the trash on the beach), we help ensure that marine animals don’t get hurt by it.
Preserving natural environments: Clean beaches allow everyone to appreciate the beauty of the beach.
Benefiting the local community: Clear beaches attract more visitors and support local economies.
Creating a safer environment: Litter can cause injuries, so it’s vital to remove hazardous items.
Removing toxic chemicals: Cigarette butts and other toxic materials can contaminate water, harming marine life.
That brings me to Keep Liberty Beautiful’s next event. KLB would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the many restaurants, hotels, coffee shops, and bars participating in the cigarette litter prevention coaster giveaway campaign, “Georgia’s Coast is Not an Ashtray,” on Friday, August 29, and throughout the year! Your support is invaluable to us. KLB will also give away 20 campaign T-shirts. Details on how to receive a T-shirt will be located on the KLB Facebook page.
Please look for the messaged drink coasters starting on August 29, throughout Liberty County and the neighboring coastal communities. Cigarettes are made of cellulose acetate, a type of plastic. Cigarette butts do not biodegrade and are the nation’s number one most littered item. Blown or tossed into storm drains and waterways, they become toxic litter, potentially harming sensitive ecosystems and their inhabitants.
We hope this cigarette litter prevention event helped spread the message about cigarette litter prevention. We appreciate all the support from Liberty County restaurants, cafes, hotels, coffee shops, and bars that used the messaged drink coasters. We cannot make a difference without them. Thank you!
We know that having everyone stop smoking is not feasible, so here are some steps I found online that we can take to help prevent cigarette butt litter: - Increasing the availability of ash receptacles and portable ashtrays (which KLB gives out Free) - Decreasing the amount of existing litter through clean-up activities - Educating the public with motivational messages that target individual responsibility and obligation - Reviewing local litter laws, including cigarette butt litter, and supporting enforcement - Raising awareness about the issue of proper cigarette butt disposal using messaging and marketing campaigns - Placing ash receptacles at transition points to non-smoking areas like hospitals or public parks - Distributing pocket or portable ashtrays to adult smokers who enjoy the surrounding areas and the waterways Using these strategies for preventing cigarette butt litter would help make Liberty County and the surrounding areas clean, green, and cigarette butt free.
September is a busy month for Keep Liberty Beautiful, and we’re thrilled to share information on all our upcoming events! First, we have the Native Plants Awareness events. We will be handing out plants and information at the Farmers Market on Thursday, September 4, and sharing information on native plants and contests on our Facebook and Instagram pages.
The next event in September is Your State Parks Day, on Saturday, September 27, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Come assist with sprucing up the Fort Morris Historic Site. Your State Parks Day is celebrated on September 27 as a significant volunteer initiative organized by Friends of Georgia State Parks. This day aims to engage the community in caring for state parks through various volunteer activities, such as trail maintenance, litter removal, and pollinator plantings. It is a day where everyone can participate, from children to grandparents, contributing to the preservation and enjoyment of public lands for future generations. We look forward to seeing you there!
To learn more about our upcoming events or ways you can be involved with Keep Liberty Beautiful, visit our website at www.keeplibertybeautiful. org. You can contact KLB at (912) 880-4888 or email us at klcb@libertycountyga. gov.