Friends of Tigertail Hosts Keep Collier Beautiful "Bay Days"

Celebrating Earth Day, Keep Collier Beautiful organized their annual "Bay Days" cleanup on many Collier County beaches on Saturday, April 20, and Friends of Tigertail hosted the event on Tigertail Beach. 32 volunteers, including three students from Marco Island Academy and Tommie Barfield schools, two Collier County Parks and Rec rangers, several members of Friends of Tigertail, including seven board members, and local families and individuals, all working together to spruce up the beach and park.

Keep Collier Beautiful is a subsidiary of Keep America Beautiful, encompassing 20,000 communities nationwide supporting litter prevention and community clean-up programs. Combining volunteers, businesses, and municipalities, the clean-up programs provide supplies and organization supporting unique local environments,

At this event participants noted less litter on Tigertail Beach and park, and in tallying the weight of the trash, five pounds of recycle materials and 24 pounds of litter were collected, totaling 29 pounds: less than usual. Besides a few construction pieces, no large items such as tires or chairs were seen: very encouraging!

During the event Friends of Tigertail board members cleared out the ailing butterfly garden, planting new greenery to transform the area into a beautiful pollinator garden along the boardwalk.

Friends of Tigertail holds quarterly beach cleanups and the next is scheduled for Saturday, July 6. For information about this and other activities, visit their Facebook page or their web site at www.friendsoftigertail.com