Over 188 volunteers clean parks, waterways for 16th annual Intracoastal Waterway Cleanup

Since the city of Palm Coast's inaugural event in 2008, volunteers have collected more than 13.8 tons of trash, averaging about 2,000 pounds each year.

By Christine Rodenbaugh, Contributing Writer
| 10:10 a.m. September 11, 2023

FPC students, many of them hoarse from cheering the Bulldogs to victory over the Hornets the night before, scout the park’s pathways for discarded trash. Photo by Christine Rodenbaugh

Flagler Palm Coast High School students who participate in the Student Government Association, National Honor Society or Bunnell Future Farmers of America check in at the Palm Coast Community Center on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023 to pick up T-shirts, trash bags and gloves for the 16th annual Intracoastal Waterway Cleanup. Photo by Christine Rodenbaugh

Volunteers enter Palm Coast's Linear Park hoping to collect the most trash or the most unique find during the 2023 Intracoastal Waterway Cleanup. Photo by Christine Rodenbaugh

Katarina Becker, Isabella Lipkovich and Aaradhana Moluguri search for trash during Saturday’s Intracoastal Waterway Cleanup. “I wanted to get involved in SGA at FPC and help out the community,” Lipkovich said. Photo by Christine Rodenbaugh

Event staff member Jordan Myers showed off some of the Intracoastal Waterway Cleanup prizes, including stuffed osprey "Torpedo," the mascot of the 2023 event. Photo by Christine Rodenbaugh

Maeven Rogers visited Palm Coast for the first time with friend Annie Lott, who will be moving to the area from Orlando in the near future. “It [Waterfront Park] was very clean,” Lott said. “We found the most in unmowed areas.” Photo by Christine Rodenbaugh

From left: Terry, Megan and Terri Schade seek ways to be involved in the community. “We want to explore,” Terry Shade said. “We saw two dolphins!” The family mostly found whole and broken bottles and scraps of paper. Photo by Christine Rodenbaugh

John Katts frequents Waterfront Park to hike and exercise. “I wanted to do something good for the park,” Katts said. He found a discarded fishing rod, sneakers, tennis balls and the letter “E” made out of wood. Photo by Christine Rodenbaugh

From left: Yameliz, Carmelo and Yarieliz Morales Rios filled at least one bag at Waterfront Park. “Near culverts is a good place to find trash,” Carmelo Morales Rios said. Photo by Christine Rodenbaugh

Palm Coast Observer
Neighbors

More than 188 volunteers checked in early Saturday morning, Sept. 9, to protect and enjoy nature by picking up trash in city parks, recreation areas, saltwater canals or their neighborhoods during Palm Coast’s 16th annual Intracoastal Waterway Cleanup.

The volunteers collected more than 1,800 pounds of trash, according to the city government. Staff at the Palm Coast Community Center provided bright yellow T-shirts, trash bags, gloves and a safety sheet.

Students and youth organizations earned community service hours.

Evana Fretterd led a group of Flagler Palm Coast High School students who participate in the Student Government Association, National Honor Society or Bunnell Future Farmers of America. Fretterd has participated for five years and wondered, “How do the Girl Scouts always win?”

There were prizes for the most pounds of trash collected and the most unique find.

“I found a pasta maker one year, and still didn’t win,” Fretterd said.

This year, Christopher and Sophia Harrison gathered 80 pounds of trash to win the Individual Most Trash Collected Award, Girl Scout Troop 2413, collected over 1,100 pounds of trash to win the Group Most Trash Collected Award, and Palm Coast resident Karolyn Whitney found a vintage telephone line concrete marker and received the Most Unique F.I.N.D. Award.

Fretterd said she was proud of the students for showing up after the FPC Bulldogs defeated the Bishop Moore Hornets in Friday night’s football game. Tired and still a bit hoarse from cheering the Bulldogs the night before, the students set off to scour Linear Park for trash.

Event staff member Jordan Myers showed off some of the prizes, including a stuffed osprey, Torpedo — the mascot of the 2023 event.

Myers said mascots are selected from native and endangered or protected species common to the area. Otters and spoonbills have been mascots in the past.

Volunteers choose the sites they patrol on foot or by boat.

“We like them to be comfortable with the area they are cleaning up; that’s why we don’t make assignments,” Myers said.

Terry, Terri and Megan Schade moved to Palm Coast about a year ago and seek to be involved in the community.

The cleanup was an opportunity to explore, although they went to familiar areas including Waterfront Park. Regarding being assigned to an area, Terri said, “That would be fine. Maybe it would open people up to places they don’t know.”

Since the city’s inaugural event in 2008, volunteers have collected more than 13.8 tons of trash, with an average of about 2,000 pounds each year.

The event is supported by a $5,000 Florida Inland Navigation District grant.