Visiting the Beach in North Carolina’s Outer Banks:
Each year I’m very fortunate to be able to visit family in North Carolina’s Outer Banks in the off-season. Honestly, I’m not a big fan of the traditional beach vacations; I don’t like salt water, I don’t like sand getting into every crack and cranny, and I’m irrationally terrified of sharks, likely from watching Jaws as a child. But, I love visiting the beach in the off-season, not to swim or sunbathe, but because the beaches are relatively empty, I can drive out onto the sand with all my gear, and I can fish for fresh, delicious dinner without having to jockey with others or fearing that I might accidentally snag another human being swimming in the water.
What I’ve noticed over the years:
If you’ve ever been shore fishing, you know 10% is getting to the right spot, 5% is setting up your hook/bait, 80% is twiddling your thumbs waiting for a bite, and only about 5% is actually catching dinner. During that 80% of down-time, I like to spend it walking up and down the shoreline. What I’ve noticed over the last few years is the amount of trash, plastic, and debris that litters the beach and dunes. So, during that 80% of downtime that I’m simply waiting for a bite, I like to stroll up and down the shoreline picking up that trash and litter, and this picture above is from just one short afternoon’s fishing excursion. This was another big inspiration for starting We Clean Our Streets and always begs the question in my mind: how can we prevent this for future generations?
How YOU can make a difference during your next beach trip:
You’d be surprised how big of a difference we can make in the world just by working together. This photo above is just one example of how we can make a difference, by spending a couple minutes to pick up some litter off the beach and either throw it away or recycle what we can. But, the reality is we need to start making a difference far from our shorelines. By working together to remove litter, trash, and debris from our streets in major cities along our rivers and waterways, we can help prevent a lot of this garbage from every reaching the ocean and our beaches in the first place. So, next time you visit the beach or if you’re just out and about, take a bag with you and try just picking up a couple pieces of litter. Your simple, small gesture might not seem like much, but the more and more people we can get onboard, the bigger and bigger impact we can make on our environment and the more pristine our beaches and shorelines will be for future generations to come.
