There may still be snow on the ground, but it’s always a good time for a trip to the beach. On Saturday, March 2, our Manchester CLC group celebrated spring a little early, dedicating a day of service work to the New Hampshire seacoast. Though the forecast called for rain and snow, it turned out to be a beautiful and sunny day, adding to the good vibes generated by the work being done.
We spend the morning helping the Blue Ocean Society do a cleanup of Jenness Beach. Working in groups, we scoured the sand in search of plastic bags, bottle caps, netting, and much more. Corps members also got to learn about the effects that marine debris have on aquatic ecosystems and organisms. In only about an hour and a half, we contributed to collecting 118 pounds of trash!
After scarfing down our lunches, everyone headed over to Odiorne State Park to assist the Seacoast Science Center in moving some rocks. Well, actually it was A LOT of rocks – and little ones, too. This didn’t deter the students, however, and they used shovels, rakes, or their hands to clear about 750 square feet of debris left over by winter storms.
After the work, Science Center naturalists gave us a tour of the exhibits and animals inside, including an in-depth look at octopi.
All that time in the sun left us pretty tired by the end of the afternoon, but there were still quite a few smiles to be seen on the drive home. Here’s to spring!