Council’s weekend beach cleanup events continue to grow

Scouts enjoy helping their communities – and one council has seen the impact their Scouts are ready to make.

Last year, the Lake Erie Council hosted a beach cleanup on the shores of Lake Erie. Working with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the council organized a day for Scouts to serve. In all, about 40 Scouts picked up trash and worked on the trails at Geneva State Park. It was meant to be a one-off event, but because of the interest, the council planned another cleanup.

This past spring, the council scheduled a weekend cleanup on Kelleys Island State Park, which is on an island off the Ohio coast. Instead of a few dozen Scouts attending, more than 150 showed up for the service outing. They traveled by ferry, camped overnight and awoke ready to work. They spread mulch around 50 trees in the campground, picked up around 300 pounds of trash and cleaned up the beaches.

After the cleanup, the Scouts had time to explore the park and work on the Geology merit badge.

The council decided to have another cleanup event at Geneva State Park this past September, and again, more than 150 Scouts showed up, with some coming from other councils.

“From a small group of 40 at our very first cleanup weekend, to branching out to three councils and having hundreds of Scouts participate, it’s been amazing watching this grow,” says Chelsea Rodgers, a service executive for the council.

Together, the Scouts picked up more than 200 pounds of trash, planted 20 saplings and helped with improvements around the park.

“Cub Scouts could be heard on the trails singing songs while helping the litter efforts, and everyone left a busy weekend with the biggest smile,” Rodgers says.

The council is planning cleanup events at Kelleys Island and Geneva State Park for next year, possibly adding more weekends of service.

Let us know

You can share your unit’s service work by emailing us at onscouting@scouting.org or with Scout Life via the magazine’s contact page.

Scouting for Clean Waterways

Events like the Lake Erie Council’s beach cleanup could qualify for recognition as part of Scouting America’s newest conservation program. Scouting for Clean Waterways is a nationwide effort designed to inspire Scouts to reduce personal consumption of disposable plastics, properly dispose of trash, recycle trash when appropriate and actively participate in cleaning waterways in their local communities. Click here to learn more.