Over the weekend we joined the annual statewide beach cleanup. We joined last year for the first time and now it’s become a tradition for us. We went to a different beach this year and there was quite the turnout, there were volunteers everywhere. It made my heart glad to see so many Oregonians caring about our beaches and working together to clean them up. From this year’s Spring Oregon Beach Cleanup: “Oregon beaches received a much needed spring cleaning on April 1 with the support of nearly 5,000 volunteers who removed over 56,000 pounds of litter and marine debris from along all 362 miles of the Oregon coast!”

The bag of plastic I picked up that day, alone would not have made a huge impact on our coast, but together with all the other volunteers, did make a huge impact that day. That’s what it really comes down to, doesn’t it? Teamwork. I remember my grandma saying, during our most recent visit together, something along the lines of “We all need to work together to make the world a better place.” I’m sure she would not remember saying that to me, it was just one sentence of many in a conversation we were having, but her words stayed with me.

We do all need to work together to make this world a better place. As I picked up plastic that day, I did it for many reasons. I did it for the animals, I did it for our children, I did it for the future children, I did it for the earth and for the good of our world. I believe that everything we do to make the world a better place matters. One action we take might not seem like a lot, but together our actions add up.