CBS2 joins local volunteers to clean up Big Rock Beach in Queens
NEW YORK -- The power of the human spirit is incredible, especially when we work together.
CBS2 is launching #BetterTogether, our new campaign celebrating amazing achievements made possible through kindness and collaboration.
Saturday, our colleagues partnered with local volunteers to clean up a beach in Queens.
Students from St. Luke's School were excited and energized to join together with CBS2 and clean up Big Rock Beach in College Point.
"I didn't think that so much trash would end up in the ocean and come on the beach," a student named Maia said.
"It's really dirty and I'm, like, happy to save the environment," a student named Victoria said.
As CBS2's Natalie Duddridge reports, close to 100 volunteers collected trash that was dumped on the hillside or washed up on the shoreline, finding items like chairs, steel and plastic.
"All of these plastics that are on the beach, foam and plastic that break down into very small pieces, they get into the food chain of fish, of seabirds," said Kathryn Cervino, with the Coastal Preservation Network. "We hate what our coastline has come to look like over the years."
WATCH: #BetterTogether: Big Rock Beach cleanup, Coastal Preservation Network
Volunteers sorted the trash into piles -- garbage or recyclables -- and formed an assembly line to haul it up the hill to a big dumpster.
"This is a cause that I'm passionate about," volunteer Kimberly Quail said.
"I think it's really just to be a part of the community and to also have, like, myself contribute to this wonderful goal," volunteer Khalil Tindley said.
The Coastal Preservation Network and Waterfront Alliance organized this team effort, trying to get the beach in shape for the summer and beyond.
WATCH: #BetterTogether: Big Rock Beach cleanup, Waterfront Alliance
"This isn't only about cleaning up, but it's also about learning what is physically happening at the water's edge across New York City," said Karen Imas, with the Waterfront Alliance. "There are 520 miles of coastline in New York, and this really impacts how we live on a day-to-day basis."
CBS2 joined in on the effort as part of our #BetterTogether: Project Green.
The team started the morning with an empty trash bin, and by the end of the day, it was full -- a fulfilling day's work, making a difference to the future of our harbor city and local waterfront.
Volunteers are also planting seagrasses to help prevent erosion and advocating for more public access to our city's miles of shoreline.