August 15, 2010 - It’s that time of year again - to start planning for our annual MARYLAND COAST DAY and COASTAL CLEAN-UP! And once again we hope you’ll join us for this day long event on Saturday, September 18, 2010 on Assateague Island.

The day begins at the Assateague National Seashore north parking lot at 8:30 a.m. where volunteers will head out along the beach in dune lines to collect trash. Each volunteer gets a free Coastal Clean-Up t-shirt and trash bags. If you find large items like tires, lumber or a VW engine block (yes, this actually happened once!) there will be staff available to pick it up with a truck. In last year’s Coastal Cleanup, 2,500 volunteers collected approximately 35,000 pounds of trash.

Walking the beach to pick up trash will work up an appetite, so plan to spend the rest of the day at Assateague State Park for Maryland Coast Day, visiting the many educational booths, listening to local entertainment, eating BBQ, burgers and even a veggie burger if you desire, and checking out the many arts and crafts booths. Maryland Coast Day is fun-filled, with hands-on educational activities for kids and enlightening display booths for the adults.

Assateague Coastal Trust will be offering our awesome t-shirts, sweatshirts and hats for sale to help raise funds for the important work ACT does to protect and enhance our coastal bays watershed. DNR’s Scales and Tales will have live native birds, reptiles and animals on display. Assateague State Park will have live animal touch-tanks. There will be numerous environmental organizations and agencies demonstrating what they do and what YOU can do to protect the coastal bays and beaches.

Directions: Cleanup starts on the Assateague Island National Seashore. Take a RIGHT onto the first street after crossing the Verrazano Bridge. Then LEFT into the parking lot after the entrance booth. The entrance fee will be waived for the cleanup event, just tell the Ranger at the booth that you will be helping with the cleanup efforts. Trash bags and data cards will be provided. Just bring your water, hat, gloves, insect repellent and sunscreen.

After the cleanup, join us for the 14th Annual Maryland Coast Day from 11:00am to 4:00pm. This event is held at Assateague State Park on the Maryland side of the park. To get there, head back out of the National Park past the entrance booth. When you arrive at the stop sign, take a RIGHT toward the beach and then another right into the state parking lot. Head over to the tents and begin the FUN!

Come out and celebrate the wildlife, culture and natural resources of Maryland's coastal region for free family fun! This event attracts more than 3,000 visitors for exhibits, local food, music and children's activities.

If you have questions about either of these events, please call us at 410-629-1538.