Volunteers hit beach

Lolita Harper

Five miles of beach have been swooped up by private entities in less

than two weeks, and city officials are thrilled.

About two-thirds of the shoreline from the Santa Ana River to The

Wedge has been claimed by residents, organizations and businesses

through the Adopt-a-Beach program, city officials said.

The Adopt-a-Beach program, which officially kicked off May 22, is

sponsored by the city of Newport Beach and Earth Resource Foundation

in Costa Mesa. It is similar to the state’s highway program in that

people commit to taking care of litter along a designated stretch of

the beach, Earth Resource founder Stephanie Barger said.

“Most of those people were already picking up our beaches -- they

were kind of like unsung heroes,” Barger said. “They have been doing

it anyway, but now they are getting some recognition -- which is the

least of their motivation for doing it, really.”

Newport Beach Councilman Steve Rosansky said the program had far

exceeded his expectations. It was a pleasant surprise, he said.

Large companies like Federal Express have adopted four blocks of

the peninsula, on the ocean side, and organizations such as the

Surfrider Foundation have staked their claim as well, Barger said.

Along with the obvious contributors are lesser known ones like Lloyd

and Ruth Dalton.

Lloyd Dalton, a 25-year design engineer for the city’s Public

Works Department, said he and his wife make a habit of walking down

to the beach and picking up people’s refuse.

“I have another term for it, but it’s not as polite,” Lloyd Dalton

said. “I don’t know why people are like that, but they leave a lot of

litter on the beach.”

The Daltons, who adopted two blocks from 47th to 49th streets,

said cigarette butts are the hardest pieces of litter to collect

because they are so small. Although they are equipped with a bucket,

gloves and “grabber” devices, butts fall right through the grips. It

becomes backbreaking work to bend down and grab the filters.

Despite the unappealing notion of picking up after others, Lloyd

Dalton said he thinks the program is a “great idea” because it not

only cleans the beaches but raises awareness about the litter

problems.

“[People] will see us out there collecting stuff and be a little

more cognizant of their litter,” Lloyd Dalton said.

Linda Ramage, a Newport Beach Girl Scout troop leader, said the

benefits of the program are two-fold for her girls. Ramage said each

time the girls of Troop 2700 go out to pick up trash, they take turns

recording the data and report it to Earth Resource Foundation. The

experience is beneficial not only for the environment but for

learning responsibility.

“It is teaching them how to follow up on the organizational side

and report back,” Ramage said.

Aside from the good lessons, Ramage said the girls are having a

blast using the “pickers.” They also can’t wait to see their troop

number on a plaque at the entrance to the 16th through 18th Street

bridges.

“They’d probably want their names,” Ramage said, “but either way,

they are excited.”