WELLS, Maine — Many coastal towns host annual beach cleanups ahead of the busy summer season, but this year's effort might have more significance.
Communities like Wells are still recovering from those two devastating storms in January and the widespread power outage event earlier this month. Saundra Skoczen is a 911 dispatcher with the Wells Police Department and began organizing the local beach cleanup since 2017.
On Saturday, volunteers will meet up at the Wells Activity Center at 10 a.m., so everyone can be filled in on the plan, know where to clean up, and to get the required supplies like gloves and trash bags.
All those items will be given out, Skoczen said.
"I had no idea it would turn into such an event," Skoczen, who moved to Maine from Colorado said Sunday. "The ocean is near and dear to my heart, and moving here from somewhere else, I just wanted to do something to give back."
Looking at her numbers, Skoczen said nearly 3,000 pounds of trash and debris have been removed from the beach since 2017. More than 200 volunteers have turned out for those cleanup efforts, this year, she estimates more than 300 people will participate.
"It is absolutely humbling, it really is. It’s amazing to see that so many people will go out and do this. We have people who come from [across New England], and they all say the same thing, that they want to give back to their community that they spend so much time in and Wells is absolutely a wonderful community," she added.
This year, a focus will be cleaning up around Mile Road where a lot of beach trash ends up, Skoczen added, to prevent it from getting into the water.
Skoczen said this effort wouldn't be possible without the support of the police and fire departments, small businesses like Congdon's which will be handing out free donuts Saturday morning, and nonprofits like Marine Mammals of Maine, Maine Healthy Beaches, and the Wells Piping Plover Program.
The deadline to RSVP for the cleanup is Sunday. You can sign up by following this link.
As another reminder, Skoczen reminds all beach goers to pick up after themselves so they can keep the "beaches beautiful for all the people who visit."
