Keep Jacksonville Beautiful is partnering with the Sea to Shore Alliance, Keepers of the Coast and other organizations to host a beach cleanup at the Right Whale Festival, a celebration for the critically endangered North Atlantic right whales' annual return to the southeast coast of the United States. The warm waters off the coasts of Northeast Florida, Georgia and South Carolina are the only known right whale calving areas in the North Atlantic.
Keep Jacksonville Beautiful is in need of volunteers to help remove litter and beautify the oceanfront as part of the Right Whale Festival.No advance registration is necessary to participate in the cleanup and gloves, bags and T-shirts will be provided, while supplies last.
The Keepers of the Coast and KJB will hold a cigarette butt collection contest at the cleanup, with a prize of a boat tour for two, valued at $80, with St. Augustine Eco Tours. Participants must be 18 years of age or accompanied by an adult. Community service hour certificates will be available for students.
The Right Whale Festival
With as few as 350 remaining, North Atlantic right whales are in jeopardy and are often threatened by human activities. The mission of the Right Whale Festival is to celebrate right whales and the beginning of their calving season. The goal is to engage the community and heighten public awareness of both right whales and the importance of the area as the whales make their seasonal return to the waters off the coast -- the only known North Atlantic right whale calving grounds.
This one-day family-oriented festival will feature children's activities, music, a beach cleanup and other activities to inform and inspire the community about right whales and their habitat and conservation needs.
For more information, visit
www.coj.net, keyword search Keep Jacksonville Beautiful,
www.rightwhalefestival.org, email
cleanup volunteers@coj.net or call (904) 630-3420.