Chantel Rodriguez
Staff Writer
cvr5570@psu.edu
Volunteering for the Erie ICC is a way to stay a part of our community and make an environmental difference right here in our hometown. Working together is going to keep the debris clear of waterways and the shorelines clean.
Volunteers can choose which specific days and times they are available to do between the dates provided. To fill out the volunteer registration form, visit eriecountypa.gov/departments/planning-and-community-development/programs/keep-Presque Isle State Park is hosting its annual Erie International Coastal Clean-Up, ICC, litter collection from September 13th through September 18th between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. In partnership with organizations like Keep Erie County Beautiful and many others across Erie County, volunteers from across the county can register to remove trash from the beaches, coastlines, bayside, and waterways of Presque Isle State Park and surrounding areas.
The Erie ICC in 2019 added a new component to their coastal clean-up. The first 50 volunteers who are pre-registered or are certified divers are needed to help in the underwater dive clean-up of Presque Isle State Park. Divers must provide their equipment or rent equipment through Diver’s World, located at 1111 Greengarden Blvd in Erie, PA.
Snorkeling and scuba gear, a cutting device, gloves, and a mesh collection bag are required. Volunteers who can snorkel will provide shore support. Everyone must wear face coverings while out of the water due to COVID. All participating divers will receive a free air fill card from Diver’s World.
The Tom Ridge Environmental Center, located at 301 Peninsula Drive, will be the pick-up and drop-off area for trash, data cards, and available sign-in sheets with clean-up locations. The center will also provide bags, gloves, and data cards for all volunteers between 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. With over a dozen places, like Walnut Creek Access Area, Erie Bluffs State Park, Asbury Woods Park, and Shades Beach Park, volunteers can choose which specific area to clean up and collect trash.
The Erie ICC also encourages its volunteers to use the Clean Swell app, available through Google Play and the Apple App stores for free. Clean Swell is a global movement initiative to record every item of trash collected, track the total weight of garbage collected, and follow the total distance cleaned from your area.
The app has the ability for its users to see the trash collected from around the world and locally. It can also share the clean-up results, within seconds, with family and friends via social media like Facebook and Twitter. It will bring more attention to the environmental awareness of how trash is harmful and help the local community.
Erie ICC wants to collect as much data on the community’s different types of waste and recyclables from the many areas Erie offers. It’s a community effort to eliminate waste and find solutions to prevent the trash from finding its way on the local shorelines and creeks of Presque Isle. Previous years have shown how volunteering can make a significant impact on the local community.
“In 2019, over 900 volunteers across 21 sites within Erie County picked up, counted, and tabulated over 1 ton of trash collected from Lake Erie,” as mentioned on the Erie ICC webpage.
During 2019, Erie ICC collected cigarette butts, food wrappers for candy, chips, etc., plastic shopping/grocery bags, plastic cups, plates, plastic lids, plastic drink bottles, and straws, all of which can harm the environment if not disposed of properly.
With COVID-19 still very much a part of our lives, face masks have become a part of our regular daily routine. Volunteers cleaning up areas may see that as an added litter item around our parks and beaches instead of correctly disposing of them in trash cans.
erie-county-beautiful/international-coastal-cleanup/
The deadline for volunteer registration is Wednesday, September 15th.
