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Mike Molnar
Director, Coastal Zone Initiative
Q&A with Mike Molnar, Director, Coastal Zone Initiative
Why did you get involved in International Beach Cleanup Day originally?
Because humans are not the only species to use the beaches. Items like discarded fishing line, beverage container rings, balloons, and plastic bags can trap and harm all sorts of wildlife, and we need to bring awareness to what kind of impact being careless with trash can have on the ecosystem. The old saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure really applies when it comes to what can end up in the ocean and on the beach.
How does the event tie into your work with the Coastal Zone Initiative?
This volunteer event gets people out onto our coast at a time of year that they may not normally visit. Fall months bring migrating shorebirds and a different feel to the water’s edge. Our cleanup last year occurred the day after a big tropical storm, and people saw the change to the beach edge wrought by the storm and the much higher tide. Increasing awareness for our beaches throughout the year – not just in summer – helps foster more interest in stewardship for our coastal resources.
Why did you pick White Horse Beach?
White Horse Beach is located just a stone’s throw from Manomet Conservation Sciences’ headquarters. We want to give back to the nearby community by organizing a group of enthusiastic volunteers, and use the event as an opportunity to speak with some of our neighbors about any trends or coastal changes they are seeing and experiencing in this special environment.
What kind of impact does participating in an event like this have?
The statistics tell a great story about how mobilizing individuals at a local level can have global impact: The 2023 International Coastal Cleanup had almost half a million (486,045) volunteers clean up over 16,000 miles (16,308) of coast and remove almost 8 million pounds of trash (7,963,571). And here in Massachusetts, the COASTSWEEP event in 2023 had over 3,000 volunteers (3,053) remove almost 12 tons of trash (47,900 pounds) from over 165 sites cleaning more than 300 miles of shorelines. The Manomet White Horse Beach 2023 Cleanup had 45 volunteers that collected over 170 pounds of trash from 1 mile of coastline at White Horse Beach in Plymouth. Every volunteer does truly make a difference! And on Sunday, for the 2024 event , we had 30 volunteers pick up 23 bags of trash weighing approximately 100 pounds. (As a sidenote, it was the first year that we didn’t have any lobster traps in the mix.) Thank you to all the volunteers who came out this past Sunday to make a difference to the coast we all share.
