Alameda Realtors braved the elements, including 20-mile-per-hour winds, to celebrate Earth Day by removing debris from a stretch of the Island’s shoreline. The Bay East Alameda Chapter clean-up squad included about a dozen Realtors, affiliate members and friends and family. The group focused on a section of Alameda shoreline adjacent to the Encinal boat ramp. 

The clean-up effort was coordinated with other activities in Alameda during Earth Day. “Some people like to clean along Shore Line Drive and that area gets a lot of attention,” said Michelle Morgan, chair of the Bay East Association of Realtors Alameda Chapter Local Community Relations Committee. “For the last few years we’ve decided to do the area by the Encinal Boat Ramp which is often overlooked, but that’s why we like it.”

Morgan reported the group cleaned up microplastics, cigarette butts, fishing lines and lures. 
“What was really evident was the massive amounts of Styrofoam we were picking up,” Morgan said. 

An East Bay Regional Park District ranger gave instructions on what to do and what not to do with the items and provided a larger context for how trash ends up in the Bay. 

“He said that what people don’t understand in this Bay Area of 7 million people is that if you see something in the street, it ends up in the Bay,” said Morgan.

She emphasized that that these efforts can be continued every day, “If everyone would just take the time to pick up trash on the street, it would make a big impact on what gets into the water.”

The group plans to participate next year because, “It’s a nice part of the Earth Day celebration and a feeder for the rest of the day’s activities. Come clean up the beach for a few hours and then go have fun.”