Thank you for taking this leading role in the September Adopt-a-Beach event. Without your help these
cleanups would not be possible. This check list will assist you in preparing and carrying out your event.
Please review the entire list before you get started, and feel free to contact your state coordinator with any questions - Jamie Morton, State Coordinator toll-free at 866-850-0745 or jmorton@greatlakes.org.

ONE MONTH OR MORE PRIOR TO THE CLEANUP
Sign up to be a Site Captain on the September Adopt-a-Beach pages. (If you have this
Checklist you probably already signed up as a Site Captain.)

• Contact the authority of your cleanup site to get permission to hold your event. Be sure to ask if they will assist you in any way: getting volunteers, disposing of trash, and ensuring that restrooms are open for volunteers. (Depending on the location your beach authority could be a local, state, or federal agency.)
• Visit your selected site to survey the location prior to your cleanup. Some locations have
  sensitive habitats that should not be trodden on. Please make a note of them during your
  visit so you can inform your volunteers to stay away from these areas.
• Materials to conduct your cleanup will be sent to you in late July or early August. Included in your packet will be: Data cards, gloves, garbage bags, pocket guide to marine debris, a poster that you can display the day of your event that explains the data card, posters to announce the cleanup, and other promotional materials for the day of the cleanup.
• Incentives for volunteers - contact your local food stores, restaurants, or other vendors that may donate goods for your volunteers the day of the event. We can supply you with a special letter to present to local businesses that they can use as a tax incentive for their donation.
• Statewide press releases announcing the event will be sent out in late August and early September by the Alliance and the Ocean Conservancy. This news release will include your contact information so media outlets can contact you about the details of your local event. We will contact you when we send out the media release so you can encourage your local media outlets to cover the story.
• Recruit volunteers to participate in your cleanup. Contact local schools, churches, businesses, and libraries to post posters and talk about your event.
• Visit the online database before your event to get the list of people that have volunteered for your area. Print the information off the day or morning prior to your cleanup so you can check off the volunteers as they arrive.

You're ready for your cleanup! See Site Captain Checklist "The Day of the Cleanup" and good luck!

THE DAY OF THE CLEANUP

• Arrive about one hour before your event to prepare the site for your volunteers.
• Bring a registration table (a card table works well), a scale, calculator and all of the supplies
  provided to you by the Alliance for your event.
• Organize your site by posting your large data collection poster, having your list of volunteers that signed up online, and a sign up sheet for those volunteers that didn't register online. Also set out all of your cleanup materials to be ready for use by your volunteers.
• Volunteers will arrive around 9:00 a.m. Explain to groups of volunteers how to participate in the cleanup. Be sure to give careful instructions on filling out the data cards, this will save you work at the end of the event. Show both sides of the cards to ensure that they are filled out properly.

Instructions for Volunteers:

• Safety: Stress personal safety - not touching suspicious looking materials, industrial waste barrels, needles, etc. All barrels, except those that are empty and completely clean, should be reported to your local beach authority. Mark down all codes on barrels to assist in identifying the contents. To report an oil or chemical spill, contact the U.S. Coast Guard's National Response Center at (800) 424-8802. For syringes or needles carefully place them in an empty soda or water bottle and secure the top.
• Work in teams: Create teams of 2-4 people, depending on the number of volunteers that show up. One member of each team is responsible for filling in the data cards. The other team members pick up the debris, call out what they find to the data recorder and put it in the trash bag.
• Supplies: Each team receives one data card, one pencil, one garbage bag and gloves for the
  individuals picking up debris.

Let September Adopt-a-Beach begin! Once volunteers have received instructions and supplies,
assign them to a section of the beach to clean. Start with the dirtiest sections near piers, breakwaters,
etc. because the wind deposits debris there. Some site captains mark off sections of the beach with
flags and assign volunteers to those sections.

Before your volunteers leave check their data cards to make sure they have tallied all items picked
up, filled in the area for number of bags filled, number of people working on the card and pounds of
trash removed. This will make your job of tallying information for the entire site much easier.
Good work! Just a few more steps toward a successful cleanup. See Site Captain Checklist "After
Your Cleanup: Final Steps for Site Captains".

AFTER YOUR CLEANUP: FINAL STEPS FOR SITE CAPTAINS

• Complete a Cleanup Day Highlight Sheet the day of the event. Included on this sheet is the number of volunteers, pounds of trash removed, miles covered, and bags picked up along with the name and location of your cleanup site. Please fax, email or call this information into the State Coordinator's office directly after your event. This information is needed immediately in order to report our results to the media. This form will be sent to you a few weeks before your event.
• The day of your event tally the results for your site on a "Master Datacard". Mark the card in bold letters, if one has not already been marked for you. Bundle the Master Datacard with all of the cards completed by your volunteers. Please return the data cards with the list of volunteers that participated in your event. ALL OF THE COMPLETED CARDS along with the Master Datacard must be returned ASAP to your county or state coordinator.

Thank you for volunteering to coordinate a September Adopt-a-Beach event!
www.greatlakes.org

State Coordinator, Michigan Adopt-a-Beach
Jamie Morton, Manager of Outreach Programs
Alliance for the Great Lakes
700 Washington Ave., Ste. 150
Grand Haven, MI 49417
(P) Toll-free 866-850-0745
(F) 616-850-0765
jmorton@greatlakes.org