Citrus County will hold its 30^th Annual Lakes, Rivers and Coastal Cleanup on September 21, 2019. Each year for the past thirty years, Citrus County has collaborated with Save Our Waters, Southwest Florida Water Management District and the community to clean our local waterways. The deadline to submit the Group Leader Agreement is Thursday, September 5, 2019. For more information on the serving as a Group Leader or participating in this event phone, 352-527-7620 or visit https://www.citrusbocc.com/pubworks/aquatics/Adopt-A-Shore.pdf .

Citrus County to Participate in International Coastal Cleanup

Harnessing the Power of People to Fight Ocean Trash is the event’s theme for 2019. The International Coastal Cleanup began more than 30 years ago, when communities rallied together with the common goal of collecting and documenting the trash littering their coastline. The movement was catalyzed by the passion and spirit of two committed individuals. Back in 1986, Linda Maraniss moved to Texas from Washington, DC, where she had been working for Ocean Conservancy. She’d been inspired by the work her Ocean Conservancy colleague Kathy O’Hara was doing on a groundbreaking report called Plastics in the Ocean: More than a Litter Problem that would be published the next year.

Linda and Kathy reached out to the Texas General Land Office, local businesses and other dedicated ocean-lovers, and planned what would become Ocean Conservancy’s first Cleanup. They asked volunteers to go beyond picking up trash and record each item collected on a standardized data card in order to identify ways to eliminate ocean trash in the future.

The Cleanup has grown immensely in the 30 years since Linda and Kathy’s first Cleanup. Volunteers from states and territories throughout the U.S. and more than 100 countries come together each year and participate in a Cleanup event near them.

Thank you to all the volunteers who, for over the past thirty years, have made a difference in the health and quality of Citrus County’s waters! For more information visit Ocean Conservancy and here is some information https://oceanconservancy.org/trash-free-seas/international-coastal-cleanup/ .