Coastal Cleanup: A Success While many of us pulled the covers over our heads early Saturday morning, two Cedar Key students, Bryan Villeda (a junior) and Steven Poole (a sophomore) joined in on the International Coastal Clean-up in Cedar Key. They joined Captain Brian Mattice, Island Hopper owner and Refuge Ranger Pam Darty in cleaning up the shoreline of refuge island Atsena Otie. Upon their return to the marina, they emptied, counted and documented every piece of debris collected. All volunteers involved enjoyed the cook-out afterward. 
Linda Seyfert Reynolds supervised the youth volunteers
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This past Saturday, September 16, 48 people participated in Cedar Key's Coastal Cleanup. Volunteers from the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge FAVOR, the Cedar Key Marine Science Class, FWC Marine Lab, Boy Scouts, as well as local citizens, picked up trash along the shoreline of Cedar Key. Captain Doug's Tidewater Tours, the Island Hopper and NWR boats transported volunteers to the offshore keys. Several private boats also participated including a clammer's workskiff and a canoe paddled by the Treats. After 4 hours, almost 1400 pounds of trash was collected. The next chore was to catalogue the trash from 64 bags using data cards provided by The Ocean Conservancy. This international organization will compile data collected by over 300,000 volunteers in over 90 countries, and will be able to identify the activities and general sources causing the debris. In Cedar Key, glass beverage bottles (316), plastic beverage bottles (282), beverage cans (271), and food wrappers (227) topped the list of most common items collected. Buoys, floats and clam netting were also recovered. The most peculiar item collected was a message in a bottle found by Marguerite Van Landingham. The intact note was written by Alex from Kentucky. The Cedar Key Aquaculture Association wants to thank all who participated this year and are planning on making an even bigger effort next year.
Bob and Jeri Treat used their canoe to collect trash in Back Bayou
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THE END RESULT!
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