This annual event is a collaboration between a number
of organizations including the Friends of Scarborough Marsh,
Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center, Scarborough Land Conservation Trust, Higgins Beach Association, Pine Point Association, Camp Ketcha, Scarborough Conservation
Commission, the Town of Scarborough, and many others.
To learn more or if your organization would like
to provide volunteers, contact info@scarboroughmarsh.org. To be notified of future events, join our list:
Report from 2008 Spring Clean Up
All told, volunteers collected over a 1,000 pounds of trash and flotsam and jetsam of all kinds - a mountain of broken lobster traps; giant pieces of lumber and heavy metal pipes; cigarette butts and shotgun shells; hats, gloves, and coffee cups galore; furniture and plastics pieces of all shapes and sizes. You name it, our volunteers probably picked it up!
Nearly 150 people - adults, kids, youths - worked for about 3 hours on Saturday April 26th - that's the equivalent of one person working full time for more than 10 weeks! Way to go! Some volunteers even played the role of media star, appearing on Channel 8 news, speaking 'on the record' or being photographed for the Forecaster, Leader, or Current newspapers. And then there were all the coordinators who put in time before the event. And staff from the Scarborough's Public Works Department set out safety cones then hauled all that trash away for us.
The team effort is impressive and we thank you all! Because of you we can count this year's event as another wonderful success! Scarborough's treasured marsh and beaches are the better for it.
Report from 2007
Spring Clean Up
Scarborough’s annual town-wide Spring Cleanup Day for
the Marsh and Beaches continues to be a success. Those who participated also picked up debris left
by the Patriot’s Day storm. The following are comments from some of the people who took
part and helped organize the cleanup.
Pine Point—Lynne & Ed Cleary
“Over 50 people participated in the cleanup at Pine
Point Beach including local Girl Scout, Boy Scout and Brownie
troops. The weather was perfect as they scoured the beach
to pick up debris. The Patriots Day storm forced most of
the trash high on the beach into the dunes and up the pathways
to the beach. The storm also washed up large items, like
pieces of walkways and stairs to the beach. Over 20 bags
of garbage were recovered, including bottles, Styrofoam,
lumber and storm ravaged lobster traps. The large turnout
allowed the pickup to cover the entire length of the beach
from the jetty to beyond the Lighthouse Motel. The Friends
of Pine Point wish to thanks all who spent the morning cleaning
the beach for everyone to enjoy.”
Pine Point Road and Ross Road—Bruce Thurlow
“I had more people helping this year than any previous
time. They ranged from an elderly couple to both male and
female young adults. Those who volunteered stated how nice
it was to give something back to a marsh they enjoyed all
the time and they stayed on all morning because they stated
that they were on a roll and wanted to keep going. One volunteer
stayed with me while I went in my pick up to gather the
filled bags along the roadways. He simply wanted to be helpful
until everything was done! Also, as I and some of the volunteers
were finishing, another older person came by car to the
side road where we had gathered. We learned that she had
cleaned that area and some of the lower Pine Point landing
in the previous few days. She simply did not feel comfortable
as a volunteer in any large group, but wanted to make a
contribution
“Most items collected consisted of paper goods, some
roof shingles, and several Styrofoam cups and "peanut"
Styrofoam pieces (type used to package things) which do
not disintegrate.
“We found some unusual items, including a 50 gallon
drum, three “donut size" car tires, a table size
rusted fan, a strip of aluminum metal and an 18" diameter
metal dish and a two foot long rolled up and duck taped
piece of carpet.”
“Volunteers that went along Ross Road found two large
objects that couldn't be taken care of - a TV. set and couch!!!
The Public Works Department was informed of these and goods
(too large for volunteers) that were found in other sites,
also. In the past, the Public Works personnel have not only
pick up our bags of trash, but have done great follow through
on large items we have identified.”
Route 1 – Dave Paul
“We had a very good turnout of approximately 20 people.
We filled somewhere around 35 bags of "junk".
The only odd items were a complete garbage can w/lid, a
tire, and a BBQ propane tank. The most prevalent items were
Styrofoam coffee cups and Styrofoam inserts from life preservers
etc. Lots of cigarette butts, liquor bottles and cans as
well. Some of our volunteers also saw a lot of pieces of
roofing materials - shingles, rubber backing … probably
because of the storm.”
Eastern Trail---Bruce Wakefield
“The clean-up of the Eastern Trail's section across
the Scarborough Marsh was very successfully completed by
a group of diligent citizens who were obviously concerned
with its cleanliness. About 15 people showed up for the
Earth Day event, and to the last person, they showed a great
deal of care for the trail. One young fellow rolled an old
tire from over the banking about half-a-mile, to be discarded
by the Scarborough Public works Dept., also a class act.
This years cleaners lived up to the precedent set by last
year’s group and scoured the trail for junk. We hauled
out 3 truckloads of debris. “
Higgins Beach—Scott Townsend
“Spring cleaning of the Higgins Beach area was a huge
success! The weather was picture perfect & the community
really came together to care for the beach. We had over
50 volunteers including beach property owners, winter renters,
local residents, several children, & students from the
Scarborough High School Environmental Club. A tremendous
amount of litter & debris was collected along the shore.
Aside from the typical bottles & cans, our crew managed
to dig out about 12 broken lobster traps, piles and piles
of scrap lumber, & what was left of the public beach
stairs that had washed down the river after the big storm.
Further down the Spurwink River, off of Route 77, a crew
retrieved several tires & discarded computer equipment.
We thank everyone who came out to help with the clean up
effort. The beach is looking terrific. Also, a big thank
you to Rodney at the Breakers for providing everyone with
refreshments.”
Ferry Beach--Jim Farr
“On Saturday, we had about 50 volunteers show up at
Ferry Beach,
Scarborough, ranging from under 2 years of to over 80 years
of age, all eager to volunteer their time and strength to
help clean up the area. What a wonderful turnout! While
Ferry Beach was notably pristine, due to last weeks storm,
most of our volunteers moved over to the ocean side of the
neck and stacked lumber-yards worth of debris from a break
water that had let loose due to the angry nor'easter of
the previous week.”
Black Point Road by the Nonesuch River – Maureen
Kirsch
“I had eight women help clean the site along Black
Point Road by the Nonesuch River. They came from Scarborough
as well as Portland. We filled nine bags with a variety
of trash. We found car parts, lots of bottles, cigarette
butts, a trunk type of object that may have come from a
pick-up truck....It was a beautiful day and we appreciated
all of the drivers who slowed down while we worked along
the road!”
Libby River Marsh—Marla Zando
“We had about 8-9 folks come out for the Libby River
Marsh clean-up. We had the Program Director of Camp Ketcha
helping with the clean up. In addition, Camp Ketcha allowed
the volunteers to park in their parking area. We did find
a few interesting things: a rubber bike tube from a road
bike, a plastic green outdoor chair, a lot of recyclable
bottles, food containers, lots of broken glass, plastic
bags, and many cigarette butts to name a few. “
COOPERATING ORGANIZATIONS - 2007 Clean Up
Daisy Troop 1310
Eastern Trail Alliance
ECOS of Scarborough High School
Friends of Scarborough Marsh
Girl Scouts of Kennebec Council
Higgins Beach Association
Key Club of Scarborough High School
Kiwanis Builders Club of Scarborough Middle School
Kiwanis Club of Scarborough
Pine Point Association
Maine Audubon
Scarborough Chamber of Commerce
Scarborough Conservation Commission
Scarborough Garden Club
Scarborough Land Conservation Trust
Scarborough Shellfish Commission
Scarborough Volunteers In Police Service
Town of Scarborough
U.S. Natural Resource Conservation Service
