California Coastal Cleanup Day 2016 at Drakes Beach and Every Kid in a Park (EKIP) Program

Date: September 12, 2016
Contact: Joey Negreann, 415-464-5225

Point Reyes National Seashore, in conjunction with the California Coastal Commission, Environmental Action Committee of West Marin/Marin MPA Watch, and Point Reyes National Seashore Association, will be sponsoring a beach cleanup at Drakes Beach on Saturday, September 17, 2016. The cleanup will take place from 10 am to 1 pm, with a special education program for 4th graders and children about plastic and the ocean from 10:15 am to 10:45 am. After the education program, children are invited to help clean up the beach and receive their EKIP pass if they are 4th graders. Participants are encouraged to bring sunscreen, lunch and/or snacks, their own reusable water bottles, garden gloves, and reusable bags or buckets for collecting trash.

September kicks off the second year of the Every Kid In a Park Program. The EKIP program gives 4th graders the chance for them and their families to experience America’s public lands for free. The pass is good all school year and into the summer from September to August. At the Coastal Cleanup Day, 4th graders will earn their pass through and education program and volunteering with Point Reyes National Seashore. At the end of the project they will receive the plastic pass and be ready to explore America’s public lands. Visit Everykidinapark.gov to learn more about the program.

California Coastal Cleanup Day is the premier volunteer event in the country focused on the marine environment. On this day, over 50,000 volunteers turn out to over 700 cleanup sites statewide to conduct what has been hailed by the Guinness Book of World Records as "the largest garbage collection" (1993). Since the program started in 1985, close to 1 million Californians have removed almost 20 million pounds of debris from our state's shorelines and coast. In 2015, nearly 68,000 volunteers removed more than 1,143,000 pounds of trash and recyclables from California's beaches, lakes, and waterways. When combined with the International Coastal Cleanup, organized by The Ocean Conservancy and taking place on the same day, California Coastal Cleanup Day becomes part of one of the largest volunteer events of the year.

Everybody that joins a beach cleanup is required to sign a Volunteer Agreement at the event. Those under 18 years of age must have a Volunteer Agreement signed by a legal parent or guardian; if you need one sent to you for your child (electronic or mail), please contact Joey Negreann, the beach captain at 415-464-5225 or by email.

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