LIMM Hosts Lecture on Keeping L.I. Beaches Clean

As part of its “Naturally Speaking” lecture series, the presented David Johnson, award winning environmental crusader and founder of Coastal Steward, for a discussion about the organization's Adopt-A-Beach and Shellfish Restoration Programs.

Johnson started his quest to clean up the beaches of Long Island more than 23 years ago. It began with a few friends from college and it just snowballed from there.

“We were just doing it to make a difference,” he said. “Green is finally good now. People used to call me a tree hugger back then; they don’t anymore because now green is cool.”

Coastal Steward is a program with a few environmentally friendly facets. One is the beach cleanup, which has really ramped up its efforts in the past three years. There are about 700 volunteers in the organization and they clean up every man made item found on the beach – from steel piping to hypodermic needles.

Coastal Steward also has an Adopt-A-Beach program, where sponsors can pick a beach they want to be cleaned. The organization arranged everything from volunteers to supplies to trucks or boats. Community service credits can be earned by students, scouts or anyone seeking credits.

Over the last three years, the organization has done 44 beach cleanups and removed 90 tons of garbage from Long Island beaches. Since its founding, the company has removed 288 tons of waste from Long Island beaches.

“It takes some coordination between the towns and Suffolk County Parks,” Johnson said. “We did a beach cleanup recently in Port Jefferson Harbor and removed 9.7 tons of steel off of the beach there.”

Before cleaning a beach, Johnson said he completes a survey to see what kind of equipment will be needed.

"We also try to document all the debris removed to get a feel for where the garbage is coming from,” he said.

Approximately 70 percent, he said, is coming from road water runoff, while about 27 percent is garbage from storm damage. Only 2 percent of the waste is from fisherman, he estimates.

Another facet of the Coastal Steward, which is a non-profit organization, is the shellfish restoration program. The program is an effort to restore the natural population of oysters on Long Island. Volunteers gathered every other weekend to clean the cages, count the shellfish and collect data. Donated shellfish are only about a quarter of an inch when the organization receives them. At the end of 18 months, there are adults that have spawned at least once. They are released into sanctuaries to repopulate Port Jefferson and Mount Sinai harbors.

Coastal Steward released 24,700 oysters last year alone. Since the program started, the group has released more than 255,000 oysters.

“Together we can make a difference,” Johnson said. “This isn’t rocket science. This is about rolling up your sleeves and doing something. Volunteers come a few times, or just once. Sometimes they spend the whole day, sometimes just a few hours. Many of the sites don’t get cleaned in just one day. We have to come back year after year.”

On the bright side, Johnson added, “I do believe things have turned around for the better. People are more willing to make a change for the better and we are getting more volunteers than ever before. Getting volunteers has never been a problem – it’s getting sponsorships that is hard. But people are definitely starting to become more aware of what’s happening.”

Coastal Steward also builds osprey platforms and runs a fish tagging program from boats with the American Littoral Society. They tag different species and collect data for scientists, fishing organizations and regulators to understand each species range and growth rates.

For more information about Coastal Steward, how to volunteer or to see upcoming cleanup dates, visit www.coastalsteward.org.