The Visit South Walton Volunteer Beach Ambassador Team, along with Friends of South Walton Sea Turtles, invites all community members and visitors to join International Coastal Cleanup 2020 on the beaches of South Walton. The event takes place Saturday, September 26th, from 9 to 11 a.m.

This year’s program will look somewhat different from past years, as efforts are being made to keep volunteers safe and socially distant to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As International Coastal Cleanup has indicated to all of its partners, volunteers may be physically apart this year, but are still working together in spirit. “In past years, Walton County residents and visitors have turned out in large numbers to support the cleaning of our beaches and subsequently the Gulf during the International Coastal Cleanup,” says Visit South Walton’s Lead Beach Ambassador Laurie Reichenbach. “It may look slightly different in 2020 but with your help it will have the same positive impact on our coastal environment.”

To help spread out volunteers, hosted clean ups will take place at all of South Walton’s regional beach accesses, allowing individuals to work independently or in small family/friend groups, maintaining a 6-foot social distance from others and effectively cleaning more of Walton County beaches. Private homeowners and condo/resort HOA’s are encouraged to join in organizing cleanups as well.

All participants may choose to count their collected debris on the Clean Swell App, available through the App Store https://apps.apple.com/us/app/clean-swell/id985692119 or at Google Play https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.oceanconservancy.cleanswell

Coastal Cleanup volunteers may also sign in with a Visit South Walton volunteer beach ambassador at the regional beach access to report and tally total time spent in support of International Coastal Cleanup day. Volunteer hours may also be emailed to Laurie@VisitSouthWalton.com to be counted in the community wide total of time spent cleaning South Walton’s community beaches.

If you would like to join in a cleanup at a regional beach access, you will find Visit South Walton Volunteer Beach Ambassadors at the following locations:

• Inlet Beach Regional Access, 139 S Orange St., Inlet Beach • Santa Clara Regional Access, 3468E Co Hwy 30A, Seagrove • Van Ness Butler Regional Access, 1931 E Co Hwy 30A, Seaside • Grayton Beach Neighborhood Access, 288 Garfield St., Grayton Beach • Blue Mountain Beach Regional Access, 2365 S Co Hwy 83, Blue Mountain Beach • Gulf View Heights Regional Access, 186 Gulfview Heights St., Santa Rosa Beach • Ed Walline Regional Access, 4447 W Co Hwy 30A, Gulf Place • Fort Panic Regional Access, 5753 W Co Hwy 30A, Dune Allen • Dune Allen Regional Access, 5999 W Co Hwy 30A, Dune Allen • Miramar Beach Regional Access, 2375 Scenic Gulf Dr., Miramar Beach

All participants should bring their own trash bags or buckets, gloves, hat, sunscreen and water bottle, etc. There will be limited bags and gloves available for those without at regional beach accesses. In addition, International Coastal Cleanup recommends wearing a facemask for your personal safety and the safety of others. For questions regarding International Coastal Cleanup in South Walton, or to find out more about Visit South Walton’s Volunteer Beach Ambassador program, please contact Lead Beach Ambassador Laurie Reichenbach at (850) 333-0298, or Laurie@VisitSouthWalton.com

International Coastal Cleanup 2020 A Community Service Project