Staff Reports

Over 340 volunteers participated in the 2021 Annual Adopt-A-Beach Winter Cleanup that took place on February 5 and 6, 2021. Volunteers worked together to clean a total of 28.5 miles of beach and bay area.

The two-day trash cleanup event resulted in over 8,900 pounds of trash being removed, leaving our Texas beaches clean and beautiful for wildlife and the community alike to enjoy. 

Sixty-three volunteers helped clean South Padre Island on Friday and collected 1,512 pounds of trash. Hundreds of other volunteers cleaned up areas along Padre Island National Seashore, Cole Park, Port Aransas, North Corpus Christi Beach, Packery Flats, and Aransas Pass where they collected 7,468 pounds of trash. 

All volunteers were required to wear a mask, social distance from separate parties, and bring their own gloves as a COVID-19 precaution. 

Volunteers came primarily from South Texas, including: Brownsville, Donna, Edinburg, Laguna Vista, McAllen, Mission, Pharr, Port Isabel, Rancho Viejo, South Padre, Corpus Christi, and the Coastal Bend area.

Texas volunteers also traveled from Austin, Dripping Springs, San Antonio, Kerrville, Palacios, Athens, Frisco, Fulshear, Livingston, Richmond, Raymondville, Alton, Victoria, and Beeville. There were even snowbird volunteers from Wisconsin, Ohio, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Nebraska.

The next coastwide cleanup will take place on April 17th, 2021. Volunteers can find more information at www.texasadoptabeach.org and are encouraged to take part in a fun-filled day of giving back to our community and taking care of the Texas coast.

The Texas General Land Office Adopt-A-Beach program began in the fall of 1986, when 2,800 volunteers picked up 124 tons of trash.  Since then, more than 551,000 volunteers have removed over 9,700 tons of trash from Texas beaches. 

Texans who are not able to attend the cleanup can help keep our beaches clean by making a tax-deductible donation online at www.TexasAdoptABeach.org. There are several different Adopt-A-Beach sponsorship levels ranging from $25 to $25,000, allowing both individuals and corporations to contribute to this major cleanup effort.

To learn more about the Adopt-A-Beach program, visit TexasAdoptABeach.org and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.