“This year Imagination Nature & CCOM have joined forces with several other volunteer trash clean up groups to execute a huge town wide cleanup effort,” explained Dell Cullum of Imagination Nature. “Individuals and groups will gather on Saturday, April 23rd (Rain date: Sunday, April 30th) at various meeting locations from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to give our home a clean sweep before we kick off the spring /summer season.”
The Great Montauk Cleanup and Shoreline Sweep of beaches from Wainscot to Amagansett falling the day after Earth Day is no coincidence as the organizations will “attempt to make history here in East Hampton Town. All our outstanding volunteer anti-litter groups and individuals are coming together on April 23rd to universally give our beautiful home a good spring cleaning.”
Cullum’s goal is to establish an event where environmentally compassionate community members can come together to create a large force to “universally help remove trash and debris from Wainscott to Montauk.”
The Great Montauk Clean Up, presented by Concerned Citizens of Montauk, in cooperation with the Montauk School Student Council, EH Trails Preservation Society, Mickey’s Carting, Surfrider Foundation, Third House Nature Center Inc., Camp Soul Grow, Montauk Playhouse and Imagination Nature, will focus specifically on the areas falling within Montauk. CCOM will assign locations around “The End” for volunteers to clear, while The Shoreline Sweep will span the shorelines from Montauk west to Georgica west. Custodians of Lazy Point will cover Lazy Point, Napeague Bay and the Walking Dunes area and the Amagansett Chamber will concentrate on Amagansett. Cullum hopes that those who have adopted roadways on the East End will also take part in the Earth Day Clean Up and tackle their assigned roads. Another easy way the community can further enhance the area’s beauty is to take the time to tidy up their property.
“We ask everyone to join in, and participate for as long as they are able,” he noted. “To receive updates, general instructions and recommended starting locations prior to the event, please contact Dell Cullum at [email protected]. Thank you all.”
The Great Montauk Clean Up volunteers should stop by Kirk Park Parking Lot next to the Montauk IGA (654 Montauk Highway, Montauk) to pick up bags and gloves prior to picking a Montauk beach, park or anywhere that needs neatening.
The East Hampton Trails Preservation Society is also hosting an in-and-out hike on Right-of-Way Trail, a fern-lined section of the Paumanok Path, on Saturday, April 23rd at 10 a.m. Hikers will collect debris along Route 27 on the return leg. The hike begins at Montauk Library parking lot (871 Montauk Highway, Montauk) on the east side of town opposite the Community Church. For more information, call 631-238-5134 or 631-681-4774 on the day of the hike.
Following what will hopefully be the largest East End effort to preserve the area, an after gathering will take place at Atlantic Avenue Beach in Amagansett at 2 p.m. Volunteers will enjoy refreshments courtesy of Goldberg’s Bagels and Hampton Beverage.
“We would love to make one huge difference this year to celebrate and show OUR planet, particularly our home, that we care,” Cullum added.
For more information on the Great Montauk Cleanup or the hike, visit www.preservemontauk.org. For more information about the Shoreline Sweep, visit imaginationnature.com.