By Howard Goldstein
Now, the Freeport-based group has expanded as its dedicated volunteers have taken on more of the task of cleaning up South Shore waters.
The America the Beautiful campaign, co-chaired by Robert Young, of Merrick, arose from a joint meeting of SPLASH and Nassau County Legis. David Denenberg (D-Merrick), an advocate of bay cleanup.
The Bellmore-Wantagh-Seaford Chapter of SPLASH is to clean up the Wantagh Park area on Sunday, Oct. 20 starting from 10 a.m.. The effort is one part of the America the Beautiful campaign this weekend to restore environmentally-sensitive sites throughout south-central Nassau (see Editorial, page 38 for details).
The cleanup will include bays, canals, tidal wetlands and islands. SPLASH members also hope to clean up along the east side of Wantagh Parkway, Bellmore Creek and surrounding islands.
"There are acres and acres of land, just chock full of garbage," said Gary Smith, a Bellmore resident and active SPLASH member.
"Last Sunday, we pulled 750 pounds of garbage out of the reeds around the Wantagh Park boat jetty. We go out as often as we can, cleaning the long stretches of wetlands that extend from the Bellmores to Seaford."
Smith noted that Bellmore SPLASH has about 50 members from a core organizing group of about 15.
"The group was out through the whole summer. Things are going to get even more productive next year. We've been offered a larger boat by Freeport and a slip at the Wantagh Marina. We're laying down the ground work for big things," said Smith.
The South Shore Bay Estuary is one of the largest in the United States, spanning much of southern Long Island. Estuaries are brackish water bodies where freshwater flows into the sea. Inland pollution enters the harbors by way of estuary runoff.
Additionally, estuaries are the major spawning grounds of a huge assortment of fish, crustaceans and mollusks. Though most adult fish and invertebrates do not live year-round in this environment of fluctuating tide and salinity, most commercially-valuable species reproduce and begin their lives there.
Polluted estuaries equal poor fishing and shell fishing, and the decline of maritime environments.
"We were so happy with our involvement with SPLASH, and it made us notice how dirty the waters around Bellmore and Wantagh are," said Ed Sheehan, of Wantagh, president of the Bellmore-Wantagh-Seaford chapter of SPLASH.
"We decided to branch out and start a new chapter last April at a meeting in my house. But we decided to stay under Freeport's direction, since they have the know-how. One of our members donated a boat -- a 16-foot, flat-bottomed bay boat -- and rebuilt it to haul trash. SPLASH Freeport gave us a motor."
SPLASH volunteers remove garbage from waters and reeds, taking away the wood, cinder blocks, plastics, bottles, Styrofoam and other debris that choke waterways and damage bay life.
They also provide educational programs and lobby lawmakers. "People need to be educated," Sheehan said. "Most litterers are not malicious; they just don't realize how their litter affects the bays. Basically, everything from Old Country Road south empties into the South Shore Bay. Whether it's Styrofoam, or motor oil, or fertilizers, when contaminants go down storm drains, they wash into the bay.
"Some things have gotten better. The closing of dumps in Merrick and the sewage plant has really helped. People are becoming more conscientious."
More, however, is needed, according to SPLASH, and toward that end, SPLASH is calling upon the community to get involved in this weekend's America the Beautiful campaign.
"SPLASH invites the community to come down on Sunday and help care for the waters around Bellmore-Wantagh. We hope to only do more and more in the future," said Sheehan.
