The NIPR EDA joined dozens of Quadra residents for their 20th annual Earth Day Beach Clean Up on April 23, 2017. This completely volunteer driven event is hosted by the Sierra Club of Quadra Island and involves hundreds of volunteer hours.
Trucks to haul the garbage are donated to this event, and ferry fees and tipping fees are waived. Residents clean up for weeks in advance. On Sunday the community gathers to clean up the beach, load the trucks, and share a warm lunch. The biggest debris by volume is styrofoam and then detritus from aquaculture industry.
In 1998 Quadra residents were alarmed at the huge amounts of harmful styrofoam, hundreds of oyster farm cages, dozens of tires and plastics from every origin littering beaches and shorelines. They identified that such an accumulation of garbage was not only unsightly but also posed an enormous hazard to wildlife and the marine ecology. The Sierra Club of Quadra Island initiated the first Beach Clean Up, and it has been running strong ever since.
The NIPR had a wonderful time at the Beach Clean Up. It’s an important environmental event, bringing the community together by sharing a common goal to keep Quadra Island safe and beautiful.
