The Perfect Gift: A (re-)Useful One

This season, Clean Ocean Action is offering tips on how to green your holiday. Here is the fourth of twelve in COA's '12 Days of Green Giving' series.

By: Zach McCue, Citizen Action Coordinator

This holiday season when looking for gifts for friends and family, it can be tough to nail down that perfect sentimental gift.  Sometimes, a gift that is more useful will better suit your friend or loved one. 

As an environmental organization that works to prevent marine debris, Clean Ocean Action (COA) advocates for folks to cut down their use of plastic water bottles or Styrofoam.  Each summer, COA holds Corporate Beach Sweeps where companies from throughout the region come to Sandy Hook to spend a day of service cleaning the beach.  At the end of the program, COA provides lunch and a presentation on ocean protection, including a brief conversation about how everyday decisions may directly affect what is picked up off the beach. 

I often ask for folks to make the connection from their daily plastic water/soda bottles, plastic utensils and single-use packaging, to what was cleared from the beach.  I point out the dangers that single-use plastics pose to marine wildlife and ask them if they really need to get that “medium French Vanilla with cream and two sugars” in a Styrofoam cup.

Photo Credit: Google Images

It’s easy to advocate for environmental responsibility, but it’s a challenge for that message to translate into action.  For the coffee lovers in your life, consider giving them a reusable coffee mug for Christmas.  Using re-usable mugs reduces plastic, paper, and Styrofoam waste, but can also save you money! 

Every morning when your friend or loved one leaves the house with their coffee in hand, or heads to their local coffee shop to refill their cup, they will not only feel better about doing the right thing for the environment, but hopefully they will think of how you helped them understand that being green is easy and fun!

Coffee mugs aren’t the only reusable gifts you can give friends and family.  Reusable water bottles from your favorite sports team or organization, or re-usable bags from your favorite retailer are great ideas too!

A Heartwarming Internship Reflection from Boston University-Bound Gianna Fischer

Beach Sweeps Intern - Gianna Fischer

From Left to Right: International Intern Axelle Allain, Beach Sweeps
Intern Gianna Fischer, and COAST Intern Macailagh McCue out at sea!

"The closing of this week brings the end of my internship at Clean Ocean Action. My experience with COA these past 4 months has been beyond anything I could have imagined. My time here has not only provided me with an entirely new understanding of some of the issues that trouble coastal communities, but also with an entirely new network of remarkably dedicated and driven people who will continue to inspire me with their passion and intelligence for years to come.

I have had the pleasure of working with the data from this past April’s sweeps, gaining a greater understanding of the pollution that litters New Jersey beaches. I have also had the opportunity to attend a variety of events, such as COA’s bi-annual Student Summit, the annual Back to the Beach Event, press conferences (on the beach!) and environmental rallies.

One of the biggest projects I worked on this summer was the Corporate Beach Sweep Program. I worked with Chelsea and Zach to schedule and run Corporate Sweeps. Working with companies who were dedicated to bettering their communities was wonderful. The people that I met while working with the businesses inspired me to continue to work for a cleaner and better-protected ocean.

Perhaps the most valuable lesson I learned this summer is this: There is no community more closely knit than one who joins together to make the world a better place. My coworkers at Clean Ocean Action have taught me indispensible lessons and have made this internship an experience that I will never forget. I am honored to have worked with a group of such passionate and driven people for an organization that stands up for what is right, regardless of how daunting the fight."

Gianna will enter Boston University’s class of 2017 this fall as a Communications major and intends to pursue a second degree in Marine Biology.

Beach Sweeps Intern Shares Her Experience with COA

Chelsea Dow - Beach Sweeps Intern

From Left to Right: COAST Intern Macailagh McCue,
 Beach Sweeps Intern Chelsea Dow and Science
and Policy Intern Rebecka Flynn at the
fracking wastewater ban rally in Trenton

"As my time with COA comes to an end, I look back on all the knowledge and experience I have gained working with an organization committed to protecting coastal environments. Working with COA and studying the issues currently plaguing our waterways has made my passion for the environment stronger. I look forward to bringing that passion for sustainability with me to my last year of college as an Environmental Studies major in NYC.

My time at COA was spent mainly organizing and running the Corporate Beach Sweeps program.  Businesses came to Sandy Hook for the day throughout the summer to help clean debris from the beach.  The employees were able to learn the importance of ‘reduce, reuse, recycle.’ I enjoyed explaining to them that their every day habits have a lasting effect on our shorelines and offering them solutions to minimize their impact on the environment. Cleaning debris was a rewarding experience for the businesses, and I was rewarded by being able to spread my knowledge about ocean pollution.

My internship with Clean Ocean Action also exposed me to New Jersey environmental politics. We traveled to Trenton, New Jersey, for a fracking wastewater ban rally and Long Beach, Long Island, for a public hearing about Port Ambrose. I had never before felt so empowered and proud of all the environmental organizations along the Jersey Shore speaking out against ocean industrialization. In the future, I'm going to use this newfound knowledge and confidence and continue to speak publically on environmental and social issues.

I can’t thank COA enough for all they have done for me. My internship has helped me discover new aspects of environmentalism that I may pursue in the future. After working on the corporate beach sweep program, I have discovered a passion for environmental education. I hope to possibly pursue this as a career, either by attending a masters program for outdoor education or finding a job in helping others see the beauty of nature. As I move forward, I will implement all I have learned this summer into my education, relationships, and future jobs! Thanks Team COA!"   

Chelsea Dow will complete her Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies at Pace University in New York City in May 2014.