You can really clean up this weekend
While many events orbit around the official Earth Day every year, one thing for certain is being able to find cleanups and plantings to literally help the Earth. Here are a few happening this weekend that we recommend.
Friday, April 18
Cape Lookout Stewardship Day
Cape Lookout State Park, 2 to 5 pm
Volunteers, along with Friends of Netarts Bay Watershed, Estuary, Beach, and Sea and state park staff will be planting a brand-new pollinator garden to create habitat for native species and add a burst of color for visitors to enjoy. Plantings will include common yarrow, beach daisy and western columbine. Additional projects will include planting trees in the campground to replace those that did not survive from the original plantings and continuing work to keep the ivy at bay.
Activities are designed to accommodate a variety of skill levels.
Long pants, work gloves and sturdy boots are recommended. Please bring pruners, shovels and trowels if you have them, but tools will be provided as needed.
Saturday, April 19
Netarts/Oceanside Beach Cleanup
The Schooner Restaurant and Lounge, 9:30 am to 1 pm
Friends of Netarts Bay Watershed, Estuary, Beach, and Sea will help lead a beach cleanup from Cape Lookout State Park to Cape Meares and Bayocean Spit.
Winter always brings an influx of marine debris, with storms washing up harmful trash that poses a threat to wildlife and the coast’s unique coastal ecosystems. WEBS has been hosting cleanups for decades with SOLVE, an environmental non-profit that evolved from a grassroots initiative into a national model for volunteer environmental stewardship and other local partners. The result of these partnerships makes a positive impact on the health of Netarts Bay and the surrounding areas.
“Clean up the beach with friends or family, or expand your community by teaming up with fellow volunteers,” said Marina Dreeben, WEBS stewardship coordinator. “Volunteers of all ages will find the beach cleanup fun, educational and rewarding. Thanks to the amazing crew at The Schooner Restaurant and Lounge, we will kick off this year’s event with warm drinks and snacks on their deck.”
Advance registration saves time but is not required. To register and learn more about this event, go to netartsbaywebs.org.
Newport Surfrider Beach Cleanups with SOLVE
10 am to 1 pm
The Newport Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation is hosting five beach cleanup sites around Newport. Each location will be led by a beach captain and will have bags and gloves supplied for volunteers.
The sites are Otter Rock/Devil's Punchbowl, Yaquina Bay State Park, Nye Beach, Agate Beach and Beverly Beach.
Registration can be done beforehand or at the check-in table at each site. For more information, go to newport.surfrider.org.