Earth Day is recognized on April 22 each year, making this month a perfect opportunity to reflect on how we treat the planet we call “home.” These local organizations and events are dedicated to conservation 365 days of the year, but Earth Day serves as a chance to highlight them.
The Leave Only Footprints initiative outlines a mission to ensure that Alabama’s Gulf Coast remains a beautiful place to live, work and play. Its programs help individuals make smart and responsible choices for a sustainable future. Removing beach belongings at the end of the day, picking up trash, and recycling are just some of the ways to accomplish that. Other means of educating the population include Dolphin SMART, Share The Beach, Stash Your Trash, and Alabama Coastal Cleanup.
Gulf Shores and Orange Beach is a nesting place for endangered sea turtles. Every year, between May and October, hundreds of hatchlings make their way from the beach to the Gulf of Mexico waters, and it’s the mission of Share The Beach to be sure these hatchlings make it to their destination undisturbed.
Some of the guidelines to help protect these endangered creatures include:
- Avoid using flashlights or flash photography on the beach at night, because sea turtles use moonlight to navigate the beach. The lights confuse them and may die if they can’t reach the water.
- Do not disturb sea turtle nests.
- Leave only your footprints on the beach each night. Female sea turtles will turn away and go back to the water if obstacles are in their way, and babies making their way to the water can become trapped in holes dug by visitors.
- If you see an unmarked sea turtle nest, please call 866-SEA-TURTLE.
Every September, thousands of volunteers unite for one common cause: to pick up trash so we can enjoy trash-free seas and shores. Since its first organized event in 1987, more than 100,000 volunteers have collected 1.7 million pounds of trash along 6,285 miles of coast. This event takes place in multiple communities along the byway, including Bon Secour, Daphne, Fairhope, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Mobile and Dauphin Island. To get in touch with the captain of any of these locations and be a part of this movement, visit the Alabama Coastal Cleanup website.
Do your part to help sustain your local community. Join these organizations on their journey to a better tomorrow.
