Maritime Aquarium, CT Sea Grant Release

Help give Long Island Sound that extra little sparkle by joining a beach clean-up on Mon., Aug. 16 at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport.

The clean-up is from 10 a.m. to noon. Bags and gloves will be provided. Volunteers should bring their own water, and meet at the pavilion near the main beach parking lot.

Monday’s clean-up launches the fifth annual #DontTrashLISound campaign led by the Connecticut Sea Grant program, with support from Save the Sound, The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk and other groups.

This year’s #DontTrashLISound campaign, run by the Connecticut and New York Sea Grant programs with support from the Long Island Sound Study, continues through International Coastal Cleanup Day on Sept. 18. There will be clean-up events in both states, social media posts and giveaways of “Protect Our Wildlife” stickers for reusable water bottles and travel mugs.

The theme of this year’s campaign, #DoOneThing, encourages people to take at least one action to reduce litter on streets, parks and beaches before it gets carried into waterways and ultimately Long Island Sound.

“Campaigns like this one help keep people aware of the larger marine debris problem affecting Long Island Sound,” said Nancy Balcom, associate director of Connecticut Sea Grant. “They also help people focus on doable actions that we can all undertake with as much or as little effort as we have time to commit.”

See the full schedule of clean-ups in Connecticut this fall – and sign up – at www.savethesound.org/2021cleanup.

For more details on the #DontTrashLISound campaign, contact Judy Benson of CT Sea Grant at judy.benson@uconn.edu.