Hurricane Sandy

Thousands Sweep Jersey's Beaches

Volunteers gathered at 65 sites around the state to help participate in an annual beach sweep.

Environmental stewardship and conservation group Clean Ocean Action has hosted Spring Beach Sweeps for nearly three decades, dispatching waves of volunteers on an April day each year to dozens of coastal sites throughout New Jersey to do a bit of clean up in preparation of the summer season. This spring's cleanup took on some extra meaning. With the state still recovering following Hurricane Sandy, volunteers came out to not only collect debris, but to participate in a comprehensive study that will analyze both the quantity of debris pulled from waterways and its impact on the marine environment. Beach sweeps were held at 65 sites throughout New Jersey on Saturday, with Sandy Hook serving as the effort's showcase location. Though the …

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Over 350,000 Pieces of Debris Removed During 2012 New Jersey Beach Sweeps

Clean Ocean Action coordinated beach sweeps

More than 350,000 pieces of debris were removed from New Jersey beaches in 2012, the newly-released Clean Ocean Action (COA) 2012 Beach Sweeps Report says. In April and October, 6,926 volunteers gathered at various beaches and collected the debris, which was then tabulated by COA. COA Education Program Manager Tavia Danch said the majority of the debris removed was disposable plastics. Danch said the items collected most were cigarette filters and that the number gathered increased by 47 percent over 2011's totals. However, Danch said the number of other items gathered including glass, lumber and plastic wrappers showed a decrease from 2011. Every year there unusual items found are also highlighted in the report. This year, Danch said …

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Clean Ocean Action's Wave of Spring Cleaning

Clean-ups were held over the weekend

More than a thousand volunteers belonging to 27 organizations participated in Clean Ocean Action's fourth Waves of Action for the Shore event on Saturday by clearing out debris and attempting to restore ecosystems in 30 locations throughout New York and New Jersey.  Volunteers cleaned out marshes in Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in Galloway, in Tuckerton and areas of Brigantine and then headed to the area shores. Shore park cleanups were held on Sandy Hook and in Matawan, Jackson, Long Branch and West Long Branch. Volunteers also installed a new osprey nesting platform in Stafford Township. The Waves of Action program is a response to the impact of Hurricane Sandy. One of the group's goals is to help improve and protect the marine …

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Hurricane Sandy

Clean Ocean Action Announces Waves of Action Program

Environmental organization Clean Ocean Action announced a Jersey Shore restoration effort known as Waves of Action.

In the devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy, Clean Ocean Action sees an  opportunity. As the Jersey Shore makes its comeback, the environmental advocacy group promises it will be there to help now and in the future while shepherding in a movement of responsible restoration. The organization recently announced a new year-long program called Waves of Action. The program was launched to respond to immediate and ongoing needs of coastal towns impacted by Sandy. With a slew of events already scheduled throughout the year, Waves of Action is hoping to pair willing volunteers with communities that still need digging out, habitats that need restoration, and forums designed to provide education about a sustainable future coastline. Clean Ocean …

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Clean Ocean Action Beach Sweeps Set

Check the schedule to see where you can participate.

Another summer has come and gone. The season was filled with characteristic days of laughter, sunshine and relaxation at the beach. While the parties have gone, the reminders of them — caps from water bottles and soda, straws from drinks, and hundreds of other bits of debris — remain behind. This Saturday, hundreds of volunteers will be hitting the state's beaches from Sandy Hook to Cape May to pick up plastics, Styrofoam, cans and much more, left behind by humans and the tides, as part of Clean Ocean Action's fall Beach Sweeps event. Clean Ocean Action is headed by longtime Rumson resident and environmentalist Cindy Zipf. Since the first sweeps in 1985, more than 90,000 volunteers have participated in the now twice-yearly event, picking …

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Clean Ocean Action Fall Fundraiser Set

The 14th Annual Seaside Sunset Event is slated for Oct. 5

Environmentalists, music, food and drink will set the stage for the 14th Annual Seaside Sunset event to benefit for Clean Ocean Action (COA). This year's fall event, set for Friday, Oct. 5, will take place at a new location — McLoone’s Pier House in Long Branch, from 6 to 10 p.m.  The founders and volunteers of Clean Ocean Action, a 28-year non-profit grassroots environmental organization, have been hailed as effective protectors the Atlantic coast from pollution, sea-borne trash, medical waste, and the risk of proposed liquid natural gas (LNG) terminals. The Sunset event is predicted to attract hundreds of supporters of Clean Ocean Action, including ocean enthusiasts, corporate partners and elected officials.  The event is considered a …

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Kayaking, Cycling for a Cleaner Ocean

Tour for the Shore aims to protect Jersey shoreline from industry

It hasn’t been the easiest trip she’s ever made, but for Margo Pellegrino, it’s one of the most important. “This is about my home turf,” she said, gesturing to the map of the New Jersey-New York shoreline and a stretch of the Atlantic Ocean labeled “Clean Ocean Zone.” It’s a portion of the ocean that Clean Ocean Action, the Sandy Hook-based grassroots environmental group, has been fighting for years to keep free of pollution and uses that it contends would be damaging to the environment. Now, the organization is trying to convince federal lawmakers to take the steps necessary to forever block any attempts to industrialize that portion of the ocean, including things like offshore drilling and transfer terminals for liquefied natural gas. …

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Cindy Zipf: Steadfast Voice for the Sea

Clean Ocean Action Executive Director Cindy Zipf represents the sea and sea life in an on-going campaign to improve and maintain the quality of local waters.

Cindy Zipf has always been connected to the sea.  As a child she spent her days "mucking around the Jersey Shore. I was and am a shell-a-holic," she said, "I can't help but pick them up as I walk. And as a kid, I'd turn over every rock and shell to see what was slithering around underneath."  Today, as the Executive Director of Clean Ocean Action (COA), a coalition of organizations wrought to protect the waters around New Jersey and New York, the Rumson native is uncovering the good, the bad and the ugly and using data, science to bring awareness and pressure to those who would knowingly or unknowingly cause it harm. COA was formed in 1984, spun off from the American Littoral Society (ALS), then under the direction of famed sea protector …

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Get Ready to Sweep the Beaches This Weekend with Clean Ocean Action

Sea Bright is one of almost 70 sites included in the 26th annual fall beach cleanup.

There have been mannequin legs and a refrigerator, a carpet vacuum and a bottle of Holy Water, toilet seats, a $20 bill and a purple wig. Those are just a handful of the more unusual items that have been found during the annual Clean Ocean Action Beach Sweeps, where volunteers hit the beaches and the waterways to remove thousands of pieces of debris from the sand, the riverfronts and even underwater at sites throughout New Jersey. Last year, volunteers collected more than 475,000 separate pieces of debris, according to Clean Ocean Action’s annual beach sweeps report. On Saturday, October 22, more than 3,000 volunteers are expected to join in the 26th annual fall event at nearly 70 locations throughout the state. Tavia Danch, education …

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