April is Earth Month and Beaches Go Green and several other eco-friendly businesses are doing their part to give back and get involved in the local community with an Earth Day community beach clean-up on April 20.
The clean-up is expected to cover a lot of coastline with starting points at both the Jacksonville Beach Pier and the Atlantic Boulevard beach access in Atlantic Beach.
However, the beach is just part of what will be the focus of the cleaning up, as parking lots, sidewalks and landscape beds in the vicinity will also be part of the clean-up scope.
The public is welcome to come and take part in the mass clean-up and will just need to look for the Beaches Go Green tent to sign up upon arrival.
All clean-up supplies will be provided but anyone is welcome to bring their own reusable clean-up supplies as well.
The amount of trash collected along the beach will be weighed at the end of the day to help quantify the difference that was made thanks to the clean-up efforts.
Prizes will be given out to the people that find the “strangest items” while cleaning and to the person who collects the most cigarette butts. Those wishing to collect prizes must be present to win.
The event will be put on thanks to a partnership of several local eco friendly groups coming together and spreading the word of the cause that they feel strongly about.
As well as Beaches Go Green, other organizations heavily involved include Sisters of the Sea, which is an annual pro-am surf classic held locally and an all-female surf club.
One of the ways Sisters of the Sea looks to give back throughout the year is by holding a surf session and beach clean-up every first Sunday of the month at 8 a.m. at the Jacksonville Beach Pier, which includes their next event scheduled for April 7.
Another local business looking to do their part is Eco Eclectic, which is a zero-waste shop in Jacksonville that sells items, such as plants, books, records and clothing, all with a sense of being eco-friendly in mind.
Both locations will offer a beach yoga session courtesy of the nonprofit organization Yoga 4 Change, which uses yoga to foster holistic wellbeing for individuals and communities through evidence-based and trauma-informed curriculum.
The clean-up will begin at 9 a.m. and go on until 11 a.m. Free food will be available for all those who take part and some prizes will be given out by local businesses associated with the event.
Other sponsors helping make the clean-up a reality are THE PLAYERS, Surfing’s Evolution and Preservation Foundation, Patriot Rail and Donovan Air, Electric & Plumbing.
