ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Suncoast Aqua Ventures needs volunteers for the Trash Tri-Fecta cleanup event taking place at two locations on Saturday, June 27, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The cleanup efforts will take place near the Leffis Key Preserve in Bradenton Beach and in the Sunny Shores community in Cortez.
Shoreline walkers, small shallow-draft boats, kayakers and paddleboarders are needed at both cleanup locations. To register as a volunteer, visit suncoastaquaventures.com. If you have a boat, kayak or other equipment that will assist the cleanup efforts, email Suncoast Aqua Ventures founder Cheryl Huntsinger at cheryle1026@gmail.com so she can coordinate those resources.
One cleanup effort will target the Leffis Key Preserve area across the street from the Coquina Beach parking lot in Bradenton Beach. Volunteers are asked to meet just south of the south boat ramp. Keep Manatee Beautiful will assist at this location and the Keep Manatee Beautiful truck will be there.
The Leffis Key Preserve and walking trails remain closed but trash and debris will be collected from the water; and a few additional volunteers are needed to walk the beach area north of the Beach Patrol headquarters. Event organizers hope to finish cleaning the Leffis Key area by noon so those volunteers can join the Sunny Shores volunteers for lunch.
The other cleanup effort will take place in the Sunny Shores area north of Cortez Road. Volunteers are asked to meet at 11704 36th Ave. W. in Cortez. Volunteers will clean the creeks, the roadside and the drainage ditches in the Sunny Shores community, with kayakers and boaters working the shoreline. A boat will bring volunteers to Gilligan’s Island to remove materials left behind by those who frequently visit the island.
The cleanup organizers will provide cleanup supplies, pickers, bags, buckets and gloves. Snacks and hydrating drinks will be available. Please bring a reusable water bottle to fill at the filling stations. Volunteers are encouraged to bring sun protection and wear shoes that can get wet.
At 12:30 p.m., lunch will be served at the Sunny Shores location.
