North Carolina Chapter Sweeps Up Local Beach
Hundreds of tourists visit the Carolina coasts each summer and Phi Theta
Kappa members at Coastal Carolina Community College in North Carolina
are taking the lead in reducing the amount of trash left behind by the beachgoers.
To help keep the beach litter free, the chapter held its annual "Beach Sweep"
in conjunction with Phi Theta Kappa's
International Service Program, Operation Green: Improving
Our Communities.
Fellow North Carolina chapters from
James Sprunt Community College, Pitt Community College and Edgecombe
Community College helped members conduct a "sweep" of the North Topsail
Beach located on the southeastern coast in North Carolina.
A
local church group and numerous volunteers also joined in to help the chapter
collect over 500 cigarette butts and nearly 200 food wrappers, containers
and other trash items. Chapter advisor Christine Weaver was pleased with
the results of the clean-up effort.
"We had such a large turnout
of volunteers. It was great to get the beach clean and back to normal," said
Weaver.
Two guest speakers were also on hand at the event to address
environmental issues relating to Operation Green.
An
educator from the North Carolina Aquarium spoke on beach conservation
and the importance of protecting the habitat of the loggerhead sea turtle,
which is indigenous to the Carolina beach.
A Keep Onslow Beautiful
representative educated the group on the significance of recycling and
distributed information on recycling centers and locations in the surrounding
community.
Nearly 10,000 members from 575 chapters have participated
in Operation Green projects since Phi Theta Kappa announced its partnership
with Keep America Beautiful
for the 2006-08 International Service Program at the Society's International
Convention in Seattle.
