Fredonia students plan local beach cleanup

Life’s a beach.

As summer quickly approaches, locals will soon head out to their sand sanctuaries for some R&R. Thanks to some dedicated students, the beaches will be ready for them.

SUNY Fredonia’s Academic Community Engagement (FACE) Center and EarthWorks, a local environmental action group, have teamed up to organize a beach cleanup at Point Gratiot in Dunkirk.

The cleanup will take place Sunday, April 25 and students, faculty and members of the community are encouraged to lend a hand.

The beach cleanup will last from 2 to 4 p.m. The first hour is designated for orientation and distribution of gloves, trash bags and other cleaning materials. Volunteers will meet in the Point Gratiot parking lot and transportation to the beach will be provided to those who need it. Those wishing to catch a ride can meet in the Houghton Hall Parking lot at 1:30 p.m.

Michelle Kuns, a biology professor, believes last year’s event had a positive impact on students who participated.

“It made students think about the larger picture,” Kuns said. “Participating in the cleanup of our relatively small local beach made the students think about the amount of trash there must be along larger beaches, as well as on roadsides and even in forests throughout our country.”

Litter and contamination is a major problem for Point Gratiot. Records from the cleanup in September indicate a staggering amount of trash found, including 74 beverage containers, 139 food wrappers, and containers and 434 cigarette and cigar butts.    

In total, 47 volunteers gathered 380 pounds of trash. Not only is this waste a threat to aquatic life, it’s a hazard to beach-goers as well. The clean-up unearthed bleach containers, tampons, soiled diapers and even a syringe. As scary as these findings sound, it is even more terrifying to think of their effects on a grander scale.

Sherri Mason, coordinator of Earth Week and chemistry professor, believes cleaning the beach symbolizes the purity needed in existence.

“Water is the essence of life,” Mason said. “As water travels through the streams, rivers and lakes on its journey to the great oceans of the world, it connects us all to each other, in the way our veins and arteries form connections within our own bodies.”

Students who attended the cleanup last year believe it was a great event to help the community while meeting a few friends along the way.

“It’s always a lot of fun,” said senior history major Joe McGrath. “Bring some friends, fan out across the beach and you’ll never know what you’ll find.”

McGrath said the benefits of helping the community can translate into more participation down the road in future cleanups. When asked if students with weak stomachs would be able to participate, McGrath said, “Picking up the trash wasn’t that gross. The sand blasting and water cleans everything off.”

For more information regarding the beach cleanup as well as other Earth Week events, visit www.fredonia.edu/earthweek.