Restore the Shore Intern Reflects on Her Experience with COA

Restore the Shore Intern - Jaime Frungillo

"Unfortunately, my internship with Clean Ocean Action has come to a close. My time spent here has allowed me to apply my background knowledge of marine sciences and research to current coastal issues present in New Jersey and New York.

Most of my work has focused on reviewing and analyzing NJDEP’s water quality data with respect to current and proposed EPA criteria as well as investigating the Floatables Action Plan implementation and reviewing EPA’s surveillance flights data. This work helped with my review of Rutgers University’s Barnegat Bay nutrient study. I have also helped with the 2012 Annual Review.

Through my help with writing scoping comments for the Draft EIS to be completed for Liberty’s proposed Liquefied Natural Gas Port, COA has taught me about liquefied natural gas and energy issues. Although I did not get to participate in many Corporate Sweeps, the two I participated in taught me about New York and New Jersey’s combined sewage system, the ecology and oceanography of the NY Bight, and the decomposition of different materials found on our beaches. The Corporate Sweeps present a great way to get involved with making our beaches cleaner while still learning about the environment. At every Corporate Sweep, I learned something new. It is a great outreach activity and I encourage everyone to get involved!

I am very grateful for the opportunity to have interned with Clean Ocean Action this summer and will bring more knowledge and experience with me back to school in the fall." 

Jaime will complete her Masters in Environmental Management at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University In May 2014.

Life-long Environmentalist Continues Her Involvement with COA

Chelsea Dow - Pace University Class of 2014 - Coastal Environment Intern

I have always had an undeniable love for the environment since I was a kid. My parents taught me from an early age to respect the Earth and love all of its inhabitants. I grew up getting dirty in the mud and spending countless days on the Jersey shore beaches. I continued that passion through high school, volunteering with Clean Ocean Action and becoming a Student Ocean Advocate. I learned how important the coastal environment is to the world’s existence, and how quickly our beloved ocean’s future is in jeopardy. All environmental issues are important to me, but water seems to be a constant in my life, since the Atlantic Ocean helped raise me.

 I am now going into my senior year at Pace University in New York City with a major in environmental studies and a minor in peace and justice. Since being at Pace University, I have had the amazing opportunity to take advocacy to a whole new level. I wrote many papers on the Occupy Wall Street movement and participated in some of their environmentally focused rallies. Living in New York City has opened my eyes to numerous environmental issues, as well as the immense amount of people who truly strive for sustainability.

My last semester at school was spent abroad backpacking in Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The program focused on community sustainability.  Through my travels, I learned an immense amount about the environment and how I can contribute to helping the natural world. Coming home from being abroad I had a fiery passion to continue learning about the environment, and also look for ways to help my community. Clean Ocean Action was the perfect fit, and since being here for close to two months I have learned a lifetime of information on policy, environmentalism, and advocacy! If you would like to reach me for more information my email is presentation@cleanoceanaction.org.

Corporations Can Join COA's Efforts to Improve the Marine Environment

Your corporate team can become part of Clean Ocean Action’s efforts to protect and improve the marine environment with a range of
team-building programs.

Corporate Beach Sweep

Team from Credit Suisse enjoys a day of team-building at a COA Corporate Beach Sweep on Sandy Hook.  

A modification of COA’s signature education program, Corporate Beach Sweeps is the perfect team-building event that provides a day of service, learning, and fun in the sun at the shore.

Corporate teams split into groups, collect and remove debris, and record findings to support pollution prevention initiatives and legislation. The Sweep is professionally staffed and includes an informative presentation on ocean pollution and solutions.

Corporate Scavenger Hunt

Corporate Beach Sweeps Scavenger Hunt is a fun way for businesses to make a difference!

COA’s scavenger hunt is a great way to bring your team together for service. COA splits your group into teams and sets them up for a day of challenge and service in a variety of ways. Teams earn points for cleaning up the most debris on the beach, finding answers to questions we have set up, and use teamwork to create sculptures and arrangements with the beach debris. After a fun morning on the beach the winning team receives a prize! The scavenger hunt is also professionally staffed and includes an informative presentation on ocean pollution and solutions.

Overview of Corporate Programs

• Corporate Programs run through October 2013
• All programs are held at Sandy Hook, Gateway National Recreation Area. Specific sites are selected based on program and needs.
• Programs run from 9:00 am—12:30 pm
• 15 person minimum
• Day/program can be tailored to fit specific needs of participants

Youcan learn more about our Corporate Beach Sweeps and Scavenger Hunt here

Download the Application here

Welcome Back!

Welcome back from 4th of July vacations!

We've been busy this past week - out on the beaches, boardwalks, and bays from Cape May, NJ to Montauk, NY, fighting for a clean ocean!

Wildwood, NJ, Fireworks! (wildwood365.net)

Upcoming adventure: Tour for the Shore

Check out all the details you need to know about for the Tour for the Shore (August 10-24) where you can join COA and local ocean heroes as we bike, paddle, and rally from Cape May to Montauk.  We'll be talking about the "Clean Ocean Zone" initiative, what you can do to help a clean ocean, and what our elected officials need to do to protect our fishermen, boaters, divers, surfers, swimmers, and businesses that rely on a clean ocean economy!

If you'd like to help us "Crowd-rise" funds for our Clean Ocean Zone campaigning, or to raise money for your own team of cyclists or paddlers to join COA on the road or in the water during the Tour, Click Here.

Ongoing Events: Corporate Sweeps

All summer long, COA staffers work with businesses from near and far to provide amazing corporate team-building and environmental-awareness programming, including our decade-old "Corporate Beach Sweeps"!

During the months of June-September, Clean Ocean Action offers professionally-staffed and customized beach cleanups combined with educational programming in the beautiful and unique setting of Gateway National Recreation Area at Sandy Hook. Since our program began in 2005, nearly 3,000 Corporate Beach Sweep volunteers have united in efforts to rid beaches of debris and litter in an effort to protect the health of the ocean and marine life. Join us!


Click here to download an application.


For more information, contact:
Tavia Danch, Education Coordinator, (732) 872-0111

2011 Beach Sweeps Report!

In 2011, 7,575 volunteers collected, tallied, and removed over 452,698 pieces of debris from NJ’s shoreline during Clean Ocean Action’s 26^th Annual Beach Sweeps.  The majority of the debris removed was disposable plastics—items designed to be used once and thrown away.  Plastic, including foam, represents 83% of the total waste found.  It is clear: disposable plastic items continue to litter beaches, threaten marine life, and impact water quality.  The 2011 data marks the first year in Beach Sweeps history that cigarettes have not been one of the three most common items of debris collected during the bi-annual event.  

The Beach Sweeps has become New Jersey’s largest environmental event with thousands of citizens combing nearly all 127 miles ocean coastline and additional bay beaches.  The spring event coincides with Earth Month to provide citizens with an educational, hands-on, meaningful, rewarding activity to make a real difference.

In 2011, plastic pieces increased sharply, becoming the most collected piece of debris.  The prevalence of plastic pieces found at the Beach Sweeps is a symbol of our ‘throwaway’ culture. This upward trend may be due to the increase in use of single use disposable plastics and their persistence. It is important, now more than ever, that we reduce, reuse, and recycle plastics properly.  

Plastic does not biodegrade, instead through a combination of chemical reactions and physical forces (including sunlight and waves) plastics can slowly break down into smaller and smaller pieces and in the process release toxic chemicals into the sea, such as Bisphenol A (BPA) and styrene trimer (a liquid hydrocarbon).

Plastic pieces can be deadly to marine life as they can be accidently ingested by or entangle wildlife. During the 2011 Sweeps, 20 animals were found dead due to entanglement of nylon balloon string, fishing line, and six-pack rings.  Beach Sweeps volunteers were able to free three entangled animals at the event.  

Plastics also pose physical and chemical hazards when ingested by wildlife.  Ingestion of plastics can result in starvation, stress, reproductive defects, cancer, and can be fatal to marine life.  Plastics also release toxic chemicals as they break down, and they absorb and amass toxic pollutants from the environment.   

Another highlight from 2011’s data is the decline in cigarette filters collected— dropping from the top 3 most common pieces of debris for the first time in 19 years.  Other smoking-related items (packaging, lighters, cigar tips) also declined. 

The overall decline of smoking items may be a result of more smoking bans on beaches, more appropriate disposal and awareness, and an overall societal decrease in smokers. Hopefully, this will be a trend that continues, as cigarette filters are among some of the most toxic items found in the marine environment.

Click here to check out the 2011 Annual Beach Sweep Report.

Corporate Team Building with Clean Ocean Action

Are you Searching for a Corporate Volunteer Opportunity that will...

• Make a difference...

• Give back and improve NJ's quality of life...

• Build team leadership...

• and provide a day of fun and learning at the shore?

You've found it! Book your Corporate Beach Sweep today!
Founded in 2005, COA's Corporate Beach Sweep program is modeled after our successful statewide beach cleanup and offers a creative team-building experience wrapped in a day of service at the Jersey Shore. From June through September, COA invites local corporations and their employees to become part of the Beach Sweep legacy by collecting valuable data while removing harmful debris from the beautiful beaches of Sandy Hook.

The Corporate Sweeps are coordinated by the professional staff of Clean Ocean Action. Corporate Sweeps are a unique opportunity for companies to team build,  provide a service to their local communities, learn about the issues and solutions surrounding pollution,  and to ultimately become part of a larger, collective citizen action toward improving and protecting our coasts.

Corporate Beach Sweep

A modification of COA’s signature education program, Corporate Beach Sweeps is the perfect team-building event that provides a day of service, learning, and fun in the sun at the shore. Corporate teams split into groups, collect and remove debris, and record findings to support pollution prevention initiatives and legislation. The Sweep is professionally staffed and includes an informative presentation on ocean pollution and solutions. 

Corporate Scavenger Hunt  

COA’s scavenger hunt is a great way to bring your team together for service.  COA splits your group into teams and sets them up for a day of challenge and service in a variety of ways. Participants work closely together to  perform specific actions in order to get the clue that will allow them to move on.  Teams earn points for cleaning up the most garbage on the beach, finding answers to questions, taking photographs, and checking in at checkpoints. All items are worth points and the team with the most points wins. 

Overview of Corporate Programs

Corporate Programs run from May through October
All programs are held at Sandy Hook, Gateway National Recreation Area.  Specific site are selected based on program and needs.

Programs run from 9:00 am—12:30 pm

15 person minimum

Day/program can be tailored to fit specific needs of participants

For more information or to reserve a date, contact: Tavia Danch, Education Coordinator