Beach Cleanup After Hurricane Milton

Thanks to the sponsor/volunteers from Our Daily Bread Food Pantry.

Photos by Maria Lamb

The Marco Island Academy Key Club members were a big help, hauling away the heavy items.

Photos by Maria Lamb

Wind and storm surge from Hurricane Milton took down the JW Marriott’s tiki huts.

An overturned vendor’s kiosk.

Photos by Maria Lamb

MIA Key Club members hauled two barnacle-encrusted tires from the dunes

Photo by Laura Owen

Around 15 tires were pulled off the beach during the two-hour beach cleanup. From left: Nathaniel O’Donnell, Kim McIntosh, Laura Owen, and Anita Sargese.

Photo by Ron McClay

Part of the berm on the Gulf side of Big Marco Pass with the resident osprey perched on one of the trees.

Photo by Arsenio Nunez

Posted Wednesday, October 16, 2024 5:29 pm

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By Maria Lamb

On October 9, 2024, Marco Island once again braced itself for the arrival of another hurricane – this time Milton – with record storm surge and flooding initially predicted. Luckily, Marco Island and parts of Collier County did not receive the devastation seen in other parts of Florida.

It was just two weeks earlier, on September 25, when the Island prepared for Hurricane Helene, which delivered wind and surges along our coastal areas.

With a battered beach in mind, over 50 volunteers showed up for the Residents’ Beach annual October beach cleanup, sponsored by MICA and our Daily Bread Food Pantry. The Marco Island Key Club also joined the cleanup effort. Thanks to members of the Beach and Coastal Resources Advisory Committee (BACR) who provided the volunteers with grabbers, buckets, bags, and gloves. According to Ron McClay, a MICA board member, an estimated 1,235 pounds of trash were collected.

Volunteers and MICA Board Members, Kim McIntosh, Laura Owen, and Anita Sargese made sure everyone had assistance with the heavier trash items picked up on the beach. Key Club members were so helpful in hauling at least four tires from the dunes near Big Marco Pass. About 15 tires were pulled off the beach during the October beach cleanup.

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