Key West The Newspaper

Thanks to volunteers for Saturday’s cleanup of National Key Deer Refuge and Key West Refuge beaches.

We wanted to say thanks to the more than 60 people who volunteered their Saturday morning, September, 17th to help clean up the public (National Key Deer Refuge) portion of Long Beach on Big Pine Key as part of the 2016 International Coastal Cleanup. At 9:00 am, Long Beach was a complete mess, full of plastics and other hazards to wildlife; by 12:00 pm it was beautiful and free of debris! A special thanks to our local youth groups and their leaders; Key West HS’s Navy Jr. ROTC and FKCC students who showed up and worked with enthusiasm; as well as refuge and FAVOR volunteers, and smiling Big Pine and lower keys residents. On the same day, on Woman Key in Key West NWR the Ecomotion youth group pulled 12 huge bags of trash from the beach and ferried it by kayak out to a refuge transport boat. These young folks are great role models for the local community! It is amazing to see what we can accomplish when we work together; this wilderness beach is now much safer for wildlife. Thanks to all volunteers who assisted the refuge and those throughout the world who were part of this very important International Coastal Cleanup.