Volunteering to be a beach's best friend


  • July 8, 2015
  • /   Sean MJ Smith
  • /   community-dashboard

Barbara Mozur collects debris during the Ocean Hour Florida clean-up at Fort Pickens Saturday, June 27, 2015. 51 lbs of trash was collected at the hour long event. (Michael Spooneybarger/ Pensacola Today)

It was 9 a.m. and already sweat-inducing as a small group of volunteers fanned out along Langdon Beach near Fort Pickens on Saturday.

They patrolled for litter along the popular stretch of beach in Gulf Islands National Seashore — long before the beach crowds arrived to plop down their beach towels, coolers and umbrellas.

Sharon Gincauskas and Barbara Mozur, both of Gulf Breeze, don’t mind the heat as they worked weekly beach cleanups for Ocean Hour.

It’s an ongoing effort to give back — or rather, take away. The Ocean Hour concept: Pick a spot of shoreline and invite some friends for an hour of cleanup. Remove garbage. Network. Repeat.

{{business_name}}Debris collected is weighed during the Ocean Hour Florida clean-up at Ft. Pickens Saturday, June 27, 2015. 51 lbs of trash was collected at the hour long event. (Michael Spooneybarger/ Pensacola Today)

Debris collected is weighed during the Ocean Hour Florida clean-up at Ft. Pickens Saturday, June 27, 2015. 51 lbs of trash was collected at the hour long event. (Michael Spooneybarger/ Pensacola Today)

The group of volunteers rotate through four to six locations, picking one location a week to remove litter for about an hour. So while overnight beach patrols looked for turtle nests and others help protect beach nesting birds, this group focused on things that were unfortunately not disappearing.

Beer cans. Plastic bottles. They are lightweight and collapsable — much easier to carry empty than when full. Yet these items, and often the plastic caps and the bags that carried them, made up the bulk of the 56 pounds of litter gathered by the group on a recent Saturday.

“Most people are great but It can be discouraging to see all the litter,” said Gincauskas, a retired nurse. “They don’t seem to care or don’t realize the havoc it can cause. We’re hoping to slowly educate people as to why you shouldn’t litter — just take that extra step to pick up after yourself.”

They also have started submitting data to Robert Turpin for Escambia Marine Resources Division. The typical haul: mostly plastic items, about five to eight pounds of plastic per person in an hour.

Facebook: oceanhour-cleanpeace  ( https://www.facebook.com/oceanhourfl?fref=ts )

Email: [email protected]

Recent litter hauls:

June 6: 51 pounds

June 13: 140 pounds

June 20: 36 pounds

June 27: 56 pounds

Gincauskas got the idea when she was inspired by the story of Justin Riney, who left his job and completed a 2,500-mile odyssey in 2013 to circumnavigate Florida on a paddleboard to raise awareness for waterways conservation.

Numerous conservation efforts and attention spun off from his efforts, including Ocean Hour.

{{business_name}}Mike Mozur collects debris during the Ocean Hour Florida clean-up at Ft. Pickens Saturday, June 27, 2015. 51 lbs of trash was collected at the hour long event. (Michael Spooneybarger/ Pensacola Today)

Mike Mozur collects debris during the Ocean Hour Florida clean-up at Ft. Pickens Saturday, June 27, 2015. 51 lbs of trash was collected at the hour long event. (Michael Spooneybarger/ Pensacola Today)

Mozur saw an article in the Gulf Breeze News about the effort and joined Gincauskas to help coordinate the effort. A core of about eight volunteers form the weekly group.

“It’s hard work some days in the heat but it’s worth it,” Mozur said. “We are happy to help — and we would love to see it grow as more people get educated. Our beaches are so beautiful. We are just trying to reach more people and educate them.”

They have gone beyond the weekly hour of shore time to spread the word at schools. Sometimes they have been joined by volunteers from Gulf Coast Diplomacy Council, scout troops and youth groups — and recently by Pensacola Young Professionals.

The group will not work over the coming Fourth of July and Blue Angel weekends. They will return on July 18 as PYP will volunteer with the Ocean Hour group at Park West.

“I get the satisfaction that we are not contributing to the problem and we’re helping solve the problem,” Gincauskas said. “We are educating people. You have to do more than pick up litter — if you can educate people you can inspire others to help take care of our oceans.”

 
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