Dr. Karen Bell
Keep Liberty Beautiful
If you like going to the beach, the Keep Liberty Beautiful Annual Beach Sweep, September 9, 2023, is the perfect cleanup for you! If you like the water Liberty County and nearby areas, have several boat ramps to use, like Sunbury Boat Ramp, Riceboro Boat Ramp, Half Moon Boat Marina, Jones Creek Recreation, and South Newport River Boat Ramp. You can even walk around the ponds at Bryant Commons for a very relaxing day.
Liberty County is a coastal county with many houses right off the water. St. Catherine’s Island is one of the prettiest barrier islands on the Georgia coast. But it will only be as long as we protect its white sandy beaches, the ocean, and the water flowing around it.
Keep Liberty Beautiful has been sponsoring volunteer beach “sweeps” with goodhearted local boaters and volunteers since 2007 to clean up the public beach on St. Catherine’s Island. It is hard to believe this somewhat isolated beach would have that much trash, unless you realize the significance of marine debris and beachgoers leaving their trash behind. Litter is a sad, continuous problem, whether roadside or in a park, but it is unfortunate when it affects our waterways. Marine debris can harm habitats, like coral reefs, that are the basis for marine ecosystems.
One of the saddest impacts of marine debris is wildlife entanglement.
Abandoned nets, ropes, fishing lines, other fishing gear, string, six-pack rings, and other types of marine debris can be death traps for many forms of marine life. Turtles, fish, and even birds can get tangled up in these items leading to injury, suffocation, starvation, and even death.
Many animals can also mistake debris for food, leading to internal damage and intestinal blockage.
Everyone in Liberty County should be concerned about the importance of water issues.
These are issues that all of us, young and old, must confront. Over 40% of our county is wet: marshes, wetlands, ponds, creeks, and rivers. We can all help out by doing these things:
• Keep streets, sidewalks, parking lots, and storm drain free of trash — they can empty into our waterways and oceans.
• At the beach, park, playground, and even at work or in town, dispose of all trash in the proper receptacles or take your trash home with you. Pick up any debris you see while out.
• Recycle as many items as possible. If they are recycled, fewer items will end up as litter or debris.
• Boaters, fishermen, and beachgoers should remember to: Bring all of their trash back to shore for proper disposal in trash cans or recycling bins, including all pieces of fishing line and other fishing gear. Recycling any used fishing line.
• Think about the materials and packaging you might take to the beach or for a day on the water. Choose reusable items and useless single- use, disposable ones. Never dump trash in the water; report any illegal dumping you observe.
• If you are a marina operator, participate in a Clean Marina program.
Provide clearly labeled and adequately sized garbage and recycling bins for your staff and customers. Keep trash cans, dumpsters, and recycling bins from overflowing by emptying them regularly.
Ensure they are covered, secured, and can’t be opened by strong winds or animals.
The only way to ensure clean waterways is to actively prevent items from ending up as marine debris on land or water.
The other meaningful way to fight marine debris is to participate in area cleanups around our community or at our Beach Sweep on September 9 at St. Catherine’s Island. We need more boat captains. Signup on our website, www.keeplibertybeautiful. org, or contact us at (912) 8804888 or klcb@liberty countyga.com to get involved today.