Combing the Coast Mission:
The protection and enjoyment of Vancouver Island waves and beaches through strong beach cleanup, waste analysis and data collection action
For over five years, the Vancouver Island chapter of Surfrider Foundation has been holding monthly beach cleanups at different beaches around the south island. Beach cleanups are a fun and exciting way of getting volunteers and community members to come out to a local beach while participating in a meaningful activity. Everyone has a good time and, depending on the beach, we usually haul a large amount of debris off the beach. All the debris is sorted, recycled and disposed of properly.
The Combing the Coast campaign takes our monthly beach cleanup effort to the next level. Along with gathering the waste on a beach, we measure its level and record data on the materials we collect. Through a waste collection method developed by NOAA in the United States, our chapter is able to develop a valuable data set that can help us identify some of the main types of pollution we find on our local beaches. Having this information will allow us to effectively direct other campaigns focused at pollution reduction.
The campaign has two main focuses: monthly local beach cleanups and an annual remote beach cleanup
