Last cleanup of the summer at Jones Beach

As summer draws to a close, the need for environmentally-minded residents of Wantagh, Seaford, and neighboring communities to step up and help make Jones Beach a little cleaner slows down as well, although not permanently.

The Jones Beach Energy and Nature Center opened in fall 2020 by order of Andrew Cuomo’s clean energy initiative. Despite its opening in the middle of the pandemic, it got off to a great start in terms of attendance. That attendance would only grow as schools began to reopen and take field trips down to the center.

The center offers an educative experience in both local history and sustainable energy for beachgoers – the building itself runs on solar power and features a whole exhibit dedicated to solar power. Events run by the center include hikes, marsh walks, lectures, activities for children, and more recently, a summer enrichment-type program intended for young adults.

But one of the activities run by the center stood out. All summer, the center hosted beach cleanups in the mornings. These cleanups were led by an environmental educator, and would target different regions of the beach – some were walking distance from the center, while volunteers had to drive to others.

The last planned one of the summer took place on August 30, with educator Mia Ramirez and numerous volunteers cleaning up the ocean side on Jones Beach’s West End. While there will be more, this one marks the end of summer and the beginning of the school year.

Prior to leaving the center, Ramirez gave a short lecture about the kinds of garbage that can be found on the beach, explaining how most of the plastic does not come from bags but rather from balloons that could’ve come from anywhere before washing up on the beach. Ramirez even explained how in one of their cleanups, the center found a balloon that came from Ohio.

The beach cleanup, however, isn’t all about picking up garbage; volunteers are often treated to brief lectures on the wildlife on and around the beach while this is going on. Volunteers got to hear about dune life such as foxes and piping plovers, as well as marine life like dolphins, whales, and crabs.

The center hopes to host at least one beach cleanup in the fall and one in the winter as well, if not more. Jeanne Haffner, the center’s director, was pleased with how the summer went, and hopes for success to continue.

“The summer was fantastic,” Haffner said. “We had our marine camp with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County, held professional development sessions for educators and school leaders, held our first seasonal astronomy night, and offered yoga and meditation on beautiful evenings.”