Beach Clean Up at Semiahmoo Spit: Stand for the Salish Sea

February 2, 2017

On Monday 16th, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, 40+ volunteers gathered to pick up litter from Semiahmoo Spit. The weather was clear and warm for the beach clean up, organized by RE Sources and WWU’s student club, Students for The Salish Sea. As we walked along the beach, we could see the city of White Rock, BC approximately four miles to the northeast of the tip of the spit.

The clean up was organized in solidarity with Friends of the San Juans, a grassroots conservation organization, who coordinated similar clean ups on San Juan, Lopez, Shaw, and Orcas Islands to show that the Islanders oppose the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, which, if built, would increase tanker traffic transporting crude oil in BC waters sevenfold. Looking out into Semiahmoo Bay and the Straight of Georgia, we all felt a collective need to speak up for the voiceless; for the water, the orcas, and the salmon of The Salish Sea.

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Semiahmoo Resort graciously allowed us to dump the litter gathered on the spit in their receptacles, and even volunteered two workers, a jackhammer, and a flat bed to help us haul away the concrete and styrofoam from the dock that had washed up on Semiahmoo Bay. Thanks again to everyone who showed up to Stand for The Salish Sea.

By Sarah Sasek, Coordinator of Students for the Salish Sea