Making Folly Beach a cleaner place in honor of World Oceans Day

FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCSC) - Environmental advocates and volunteers are gathering on Folly Beach Thursday in honor of World Oceans Day to make the beach a cleaner place.

It is the third year in a row that Global Eco Adventures, an environmental education nonprofit, has partnered with Toby the Turtle and the South Carolina Aquarium to bring this event to life.

This event started when its director, Cheyenne Twilley, noticed that there were no events for World Oceans Day across the Carolinas. So, she decided to take matters into her own hands.

“Of course, by bringing the residents out here, by bringing organizations out here, by bringing external partners out here and businesses out here, we’re really just - it’s a big community engagement effort,” Twilley said. “And so, we’re just connecting the dots between the science and the decisions.”

People can participate in a beach cleanup, learn about the environment and do litter journaling, which is when you take note of how many of each piece of litter is found. This event has now expanded to four locations across the world including Folly Beach, Myrtle Beach, Maui and San Cristobal, Galapagos Islands.

Twilley says plastic straws and cigarette buds were the most common items found in the cleanup last year, even though cigarettes aren’t even allowed on the beach. She says accountability has to start somewhere.

“It starts with awareness, right?” Twilley said. “Awareness inspires conservation and what people don’t know, we can’t expect them to protect. So perhaps, the city might not know how substantial that number was. If we can bring it to their attention, now they have something to work with.”

Participants can meet at the beach side of the Tides hotel at 4:00 p.m. and will be separated amongst four locations: two on the street side and two on the beach side. There will also be an after-party at the Blue Tiki Bar at the Tides hotel at 6:00 p.m.

“Oftentimes, scientists and policymakers speak very different languages,” Twilley said. “So, if I can help connect those knowledge holders and those decision-makers... If I can be that liaison or knowledge broker between the two, I think that we can generate a lot more communication and promote more sound conservation efforts.”

Twilley says they’ve already had 150 people sign up for the event and walkups are welcome.

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