Volunteers help clean up the local non-profit Candy Beach
Regina Gonzalez reports
ST Petersburg, Fla. – Gawlin Donaldson was born and raised in St. Pete.
Not only did he enjoy going to all the beautiful beaches the Bay Area had to offer, but he also welcomed visitors while working on them.
„Tourists come out and say, 'This is my favorite place in the world. I love bringing my family here and then when they go home and see them leave all their trash on the sand. I never understood that.'” Donaldson said. „A lot of people come here to visit and enjoy our beaches and then leave a few things behind when they go home.”
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So, he started following them, and it has been his passion for as long as he can remember.
She joined dozens of volunteers from far and near to help the nonprofit Keep Pinellas Beautiful clean up Candy Beach.
A popular place to hang out in the sun and set up camp for the day, loose trash like cans, bottles and plastic bags can be found strewn across the mangroves and shorelines and build up faster than you might think.
Pat DeBlasco, executive director of Keep Pinellas Beautiful, said of all the beaches they clean, Candy has the most litter.
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„We clean an average of 500 pounds of trash out of this area weekly,” DeBlasco explained. „People have to remember, whatever they bring in, they have to bring out.”
Pat stressed that while worrying, it is comforting to see so many people helping to keep our beaches clean.
„Our vision at Keep Pinellas Beautiful is to create a culture of environmentally responsible citizens, so when you see so many people, it gives me goosebumps because, wow, it’s really working,” Pat said.
Click to join the beach cleanup or learn more about Keep Pinellas Beautiful’s campaign Here.