Protect Your Favorite Beach for International Coastal Cleanup: Staff Picks

BY STEPHANIE LICCIARDI, ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATE + GROUP STAFF

Barnes Hole, Amagansett

September is International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Month. ICC is one of the largest gatherings of ocean activists that aims to keep our beaches and waters trash-free and safe. Anyone can participate in ICC by attending a beach cleanup or by using your voice to be an advocate for our marine ecosystems in your community and at all levels of government. 

Here at the Group, we are passionate about cleaning trash off our East End beaches. Beach cleanups of all sizes are effective, whether you attend an official cleanup or head out to a beach on your own with a trash bag. We have compiled a list from A to Z of some of our favorite beaches as a starting point for everyone interested in keeping our beloved marine ecosystems safe and clean. Brush up on your beach cleanup safety, check out one of the spots below chosen by us Groupies, and let’s clean up our shores!

Rachel Bosworth, Media Relations Manager: Bailie Beach, Mattituck
Bailie Beach has always been one of my favorite beaches for a number of reasons. I’ve moved around a bit, but always return to the North Fork. When I do, this beach is one of my first stops to reconnect with my home. There are a lot of memories here, but some of my favorites always include trying to make it in time for sunset. Whenever I need to think or just take a break, I love to come here for a walk or just to sit in the sand - regardless of season. It’s not as rocky as some other Long Island Sound beaches, and you can find some pretty good beach glass, too. Keeping this beach and others clean doesn’t just keep these places special, it helps protect the wildlife we share our shores and seas with. 

Bailie Beach

Anita Wright, Assistant Director of Environmental Education Barnes Hole Beach, Amagansett
All year long, I walk this beach almost every day with my dogs. It’s one of the most peaceful and beautiful places in Amagansett and my whole family enjoys spending time here. In the summer, the beach gets heavy use (especially this year) and unfortunately, I’ve been finding more and more garbage on the beach. On September 26, I will be participating in a beach clean-up with other members of the Barnes Landing Association!

Pups love Barnes Hole, too!

Aaron Virgin - Breakwater Beach, Mattituck
Breakwater Beach in Mattituck is my pick since it’s one of the most popular for everyone - beach bathers, dog walkers, and of course, beach nesting birds. Keeping the beach clean needs to be a top priority so the endangered piping plover and threatened least tern can safely nest and raise their young. While this beach is a popular destination, I see more and more people bringing a bag during their daily walks and picking up marine debris. Every little bit helps!  

Past International Coastal Cleanup volunteers at Breakwater Beach

Steve Biasetti, Director of Environmental Education: Fresh Pond Landing, Hither Woods and White Sands Beach, Napeague
I like beaches that are off the beaten path. Fresh Pond Landing certainly meets the description. We regularly brought children to this beach for our Summer Field Ecology Program, sometimes by hiking the mile from the Montauk Highway overlook, but more often as part of a biking exploration of the entire Hither Woods Preserve. Rarely did we see anyone else at Fresh Pond Landing. It was just the fishing weirs, the driftwood, the bluffs, and our little group.

White Sands Beach, on the Atlantic Ocean in Napeague, often has surfers catching waves, fishermen chasing stripers, or locals walking their dogs. It is also a popular destination for school field trips. Group for the East End educators have been leading trips here for decades, for students from Montauk, Springs, and East Hampton. The beachcombing is phenomenal, with a great variety of shells to be discovered. Of course, beachcombing took a back seat that time a few years ago when the visiting class watched two humpback whales feeding just beyond the waves!

John Marshall students at White Sands Beach watching humpback whales

Hither Hills, New York-New Jersey Trail Conference photo

Taralynn Reynolds, Outreach and Education Manager: Hallock State Park Preserve, Riverhead
I love that you can see rare geological formations in the hoodoos, bank swallows nesting in the dunes, migrating monarchs, shorebirds and more. It’s not a large area but one worth checking out, good for looking for shells and a great place to pick up trash that’s been left behind or washed up!

Hallock State Park Preserve

Bob DeLuca, President : Orient Point County Park on Long Island Sound
This rustic, oasis of stony shoreline solitude can be reached on foot from the parking area by following the hiking trail through the park entrance directly out to the shoreline.

The Orient Point beach offers a sweeping vista across the eastern end of Long Island Sound, with views of Plum Island, the Connecticut shoreline, the  historic “Coffee Pot” and Plum Island Lighthouses, and the daily passing of ferries running to and from Connecticut. In the fall, the beach is framed by a carpet of blooming yellow goldenrod that dominates the property’s former farmland, and hosts a daily visitation of migrating butterflies, swallows, hawks and songbirds that work their way south from all across New England.

Environmental Associate Stephanie Licciardi also loves the Orient County Park Beach!

Orient Point Beach

Kristina Lange, Director of Membership - Shell Beach, Shelter Island
Rising water levels have impacted every beach on Shelter Island, and my favorite, Shell Beach, is no exception. While there is far less beach than when I was a child, I still love to swim on the harbor side of the narrow ¾ mile-long sandy peninsula. The windier bay side of the rocky dirt road offers relief on those scorching hot days and nonstop entertainment by kite-surfers zipping through the waves and catching big air. 

The lack of bathroom facilities keeps crowds away but allows wildlife to thrive, which is what I love most about Shell Beach. The beauty and tranquility restore my soul, especially during difficult times. Plovers and terns frolic at the water’s edge, crabs scamper on the sand, and the sight of an osprey soaring overhead brings unmitigated joy. 

I have been a witness to my favorite beach fading slowly into the sea, but we humans can prevent it from disappearing altogether if we make the necessary changes in our individual lives to stop, and eventually reverse, global warming. Let’s do this!

Least terns and chicks at Shell Beach, Jim Colligan photo