Facebook is taking major hits in the news lately and of course it is also completely flooded with terrible Tide Pod humor. The current mess almost makes you want close the account and try out yet another platform for communication. Don’t do that just yet though, because for all the garbage out there to wade through, you can still find some real people and real life adventures waiting for you. They’re out there, that’s the whole reason I wanted to write about this really. Facebook’s cheeky algorithm decided that this Salty Soul Beach Cleanup deserved a chance to cut through crap. With that free bump of exposure, the tiny monthly beach cleanup turned into 200 people surveying the entire Dunedin Causeway for every spec of treasure they could find. It’s a Facebook miracle and its a win for good people, because far more volunteers showed up than anyone ever anticipated.

Trash Adventures

Since moving to Florida a few years ago, volunteering hasn’t really topped my to do list, just keeping track of my own life and chasing photography around the state keeps me busy. I joined in on this beach cleanup for a change of pace and to help document what others were doing, how others were volunteering.

I have only been by the Dunedin Causeway once or twice, never really driven over it or even stopped to relax. A long drive out there from the opposite end of town and parking my wagon right on the beach made the morning a small adventure of its own. I think the entire Jeep Krewe there helping out hoped that I would get stuck so they could have a chance to put their rigs to use for something fun. It’s a beach though and not really made for swimming so you have to find different adventure once you’ve arrived. The best part of a Beach Cleanup is the variety of people joining in the party. That morning I met members of church groups, high school students searching for volunteer hours, families, sea turtle lovers, Robotics club members, kayakers, paddle boarders, bicyclists, and a lot of Jeep drivers.

Volunteers found everything from car parts to rope to tires and even a mattress that everyone familiar with the water recognized pretty easily coming from a bed in a boat. Some people found adventure in just hanging out with their families, some people got their fun from walking way far out on beach uncovered that morning by low tide waters. The orange picker sticks and tiny buckets made the little volunteers to spring into action, you would’ve believed that they were running around the beach with light sabers fighting off the enemy. In about two hours volunteers had covered almost the entire causeway leaving behind only nature’s trash like fallen branches and tons of seaweed.

Coordinators

Salty Soul is the brand a co-worker of mine started from his Dunedin garage not so long ago. Working with Keep Pinellas Beautiful, John adopted the Dunedin Causeway with his brand, now it’s up to Salty Soul to help keep one of Dunedin’s main attractions tidy year round. Selling island / jeep life decals and clothing, Salty Soul can be seen all over the Tampa Jeep Krewe rides. The crew made up the main force of volunteers for this beach cleanup and it makes perfect sense, because the group that showed up seemed right at home on the beach and in the water.

January’s cleanup event rounded up over 700 pounds of trash, delivered 600 volunteer hours, and cleanup up 2 miles of beach front. The next event takes place March 24th, 2018 at 9:00 AM.