Sept 18 Beach Cleanup and Picnic

On Saturday, September 18, Friends of Bates Beach coordinated the cleanup of Bates Beach as part of the annual California Coastal Cleanup Day.

Nineteen club volunteers picked up trash and recyclables for three hours along the 2.5-mile beach the parking lot, and the hiking trail above. We were joined by twelve volunteer students from the nearby Cate High School.

About 90 pounds of trash and 12 pounds of recyclable material was eventually collected from the area. This total is down from two years ago when volunteers gathered 113 pounds of trash and 14 pounds of recyclables. The lower amount was attributed to the efforts of the Friends of Bates Beach throughout the year to keep the beach clean, and a lighter than normal number of people visiting the beach because of the lingering effects of the COVID pandemic. (The Coastal Cleanup Day was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic.)

This was the first time that Cate school had sent volunteers and the students seemed to really enjoy participating.

The park ranger, Alex Contreras, dropped by at the end of the cleanup to collect the trash and to meet many of the Friends volunteers for the first time. I also met briefly with Pecos, who is the park host living in the trailer in the parking lot above the beach. Both have no problem with the beach nudity as long as we stay in our designated area.

After the cleanup was complete, many in our nudist group enjoyed the afternoon at Bates and had no hassles at all. The overcast morning gave way to a beautiful afternoon with temperatures in the mid-70’s. A pod of dolphins played just offshore.