#TeamShoreline needs your help reaching one million citizens by September

We’ve missed you! After putting cleanups on hold for nearly four months, the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup will relaunch on July 14^th to solo, household and small team cleanups. In March, the program asked volunteers to cancel or postpone their shoreline cleanups for volunteer safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. This means that an estimated 84,000 kilograms of litter remained on shorelines.

Now, we need your help to catch up! But cleanups will look a little different this year. You might be doing a solo or small group cleanup, but that doesn’t mean you’re on your own. We’ve got resources to help you plan, like a checklist and reminders on where to look for public-health information.

COVID-19 is still a threat, but nature still needs us, now more than ever. You can help recover the litter that has been left behind before it makes its way into our waterbodies. Last year was the biggest year on record in the program’s 26-year history, all thanks to our amazing volunteers.

Join #TeamShoreline and help us reach another milestone year: we want to celebrate our millionth citizen scientist by International Coastal Cleanup month in September. If just over 350 volunteers lend a hand each week, in every province and territory, we can reach our goal and help recover the litter that has been left behind.

Stay safe while helping our oceans and freshwater

We want everyone to stay safe as we get back outside and protect our waters. The safety of our volunteers is our first priority, and to help you do this, we’ve prepared a checklist for solo, household and small team cleanups. The checklist will guide you through each stage of the cleanup: before, during and after.

There are many kilometres of shoreline to cover and collect data on across Canada. And don’t forget, a shoreline is anywhere that connects land and water — oceans, creeks, streams, rivers, lakes and even storm drains. You can organize a cleanup close to home, at your local park while socially distanced with a small group of friends or with your family on your next staycation. But before your go out, refer to the advice of your provincial and local public health groups on how to protect yourself from COVID-19 and don’t forget to make use of our trusty checklist. Public health guidelines can help inform appropriate group size, social distancing measures, reopening information, and other important details like how and when to use personal protective equipment.

Register your family, solo or small group to join #TeamShoreline. Year after year, volunteers play a critical role in helping reduce plastic (and other) pollution in coastal and freshwater bodies.We’re excited to have volunteers back taking action on shorelines and to celebrate our one millionth volunteer.Download the checklist to plan your solo, household or small team cleanup and register your cleanup by visiting www.shorelinecleanup.ca.

The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, presented by Loblaw Companies Limited and Coca-Cola Canada, is one of the largest direct-action conservation programs in Canada. A conservation partnership of Ocean Wise and WWF-Canada, the Shoreline Cleanup aims to promote understanding of shoreline litter issues by engaging Canadians to rehabilitate shoreline areas through cleanups. www.ShorelineCleanup.ca