Big Sweep 2011 Beach Clean Up

Volunteers are needed for the annual beach clean up on September 24th, 2011 at 9 a.m.  The Big Sweep began in 1987 with the goal of removing debris from North Carolina’s waterways.  The event is sponsored by Keep America Beautiful of New Hanover County, the Town of Carolina Beach, the Town of Kure Beach, the Town of Wrightsville Beach, Cape Fear Surfrider Foundation, the Pleasure Island Sea Turtle Project, the Pleasure Island Parrotheads, the City of Wilmington, and Cape Fear River Watch.  Refreshments and supplies will be available.  Sunscreen and sturdy clothing/shoes are recommended.

For Pleasure Island volunteers - Meet at the Carolina Beach Boardwalk Gazebo or at the pier in Kure Beach.  

For Wrightsville Beach volunteers - Meet at Johnie Mercer's Pier 

For Greenfield Lake volunteers - Meet at the boathouse at Greenfield Lake.

 We'll see you there!     *  Find us on on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter *

Volunteers Needed- NC Big Sweep 2010

Local volunteers are needed on Saturday, September 25th, 2010 at 9am for the annual cleanup of New Hanover County's waterways.  The NC Big Sweep is part of the International Coastal Cleanup involving over 90 countries and 55 states and territories.  Locally the event is sponsored by Keep America Beautiful of New Hanover County, the Town of Carolina Beach, the Town of Kure Beach, the Town of Wrightsville Beach, the City of Wilmington, the Wrightsville Beach Sea Turtle Project, the Pleasure Island Parrotheads, the Cape Fear Surfrider Foundation, and the Cape Fear River Watch. 

Please wear sturdy closed toe shoes and be prepared to get dirty!  Refreshments, bags and gloves will be provided.  Please bring your own reusable water bottle and gloves if you have them.  Volunteers can participate at the following locations: 

Carolina Beach - Meet at the Boardwalk Gazebo
Kure Beach - Meet at the Pier
Greenfield Lake - Meet at the Boathouse
Wrightsville Beach - Meet at Access #4, Access #36 (near Oceanic) or Johnnie Mercer's Pier

We'll see you there!

Pleasure Island Sea Turtle Fundraiser

The Pleasure Island Sea Turtle Project (PISTP) will host their annual wine tasting fundraiser on Sunday May 17th, 2009. The event will be held from 2-5pm at the Ocean Grill & Tiki Bar, 1211 Lake Park Boulevard in Carolina Beach, NC. Advance tickets are $25.00 ($30.00 at the door). This year participants will receive a commemorative PISTP logo wine glass. Tickets are available at the Ocean Grill and Tiki Bar, LeSoleil or United Beach Vacations in Carolina Beach or call the Ocean Dunes Rec Center (910)458-3059 in Kure Beach.

Highlights include a silent auction and raffle as well as discounts on your favorite wine(s). Sea Glass Organic has donated a gift basket that includes our new Sea Turtle reusable water bottle and other goodies. We are also donating 10% of profits from the sale of these bottles on an ongoing basis. All proceeds from this event will be used to support the Pleasure Island Sea Turtle volunteer efforts, Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Hospital (Topsail, NC) and SeaTurtle.org. Thank you for your support!

It's Time to Get Down and Dirty! NC Big Sweep

It's that time of year where everyone in North Carolina can get down and dirty. Volunteers from all over the state will be cleaning up trash from our waterways during the NC Big Sweep over the next few weekends. Clean ups are scheduled by County and New Hanover County's will be held this coming weekend September 27th, 2008. Brunswick and Pender County will be on October 4th, 2008. Go to www.ncbigsweep.org for all other counties.

Last year New Hanover County volunteers collected 581 bags of trash estimated at 11,620 pounds! If you live in New Hanover County and want to participate you have several location options:

Greenfield Lake- Meet at the Boat House at 9:00am
Wrightsville Beach- Meet at Johnnie Mercers Fishing Pier 9:00am
Carolina Beach- Meet at the Boardwalk Gazebo at 9:00am
Kure Beach- Meet at the Kure Beach Fishing Pier at 9:00am

You will be provided with gloves, trash bags and refreshments. You might win a prize or find a real treasure like the star fish (pictured above) or sea glass. It only takes and hour or two, you can meet fun people and enjoy the great outdoors. We'll see you there!

An Amazing Surfer Story

What a pleasant surprise this morning. Our local Sunday paper headline was not of the usual gloom and doom. It read "Blind Man Makes Waves" and has a picture of local Carolina Beach resident Zac Adair riding a wave on his surfboard.

Zac Adair was hit by a taxicab at full speed which resulted in a fractured neck, broken legs and he was put on life support for a week. He recovered, but in May 2004 he ran into the side of his truck and had a stroke which damaged his optic nerves and left him blind.

He lost his job, hobbies and girlfriend. Eight months later, inspired by his father, he got back on his feet. He got back on a surfboard for the first time last year. He now lives in Carolina Beach, NC with his girlfriend (who helps him catch those waves) goes to college and is once again a surfer. Check out the video it's amazing.

You can also read the whole story at Star News Online.