Long walks along the beach? Bellingham nonprofit hosting Valentine’s Day cleanup
A unique Valentine’s Day event is available for anyone looking to give back to the community.
Bellingham-based nonprofit RE Sources is hosting a Valentine’s Day cleanup at Locust Beach from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday.
“I think it’s a cute way to spend time with your valentine, and if even you don’t have a valentine, the Earth can be your valentine,” organizer Seth Mangold said in an interview with The Bellingham Herald.
Mangold said there are usually about 25 to 40 people who attend the event each year, with some families bringing their kids to help out.
Mangold serves as the Community Engagement Specialist at RE Sources. He also helped organize the Valentine’s Day cleanup at Locust Beach the last two years.
“I think a lot of people are looking for ways to celebrate or feel the need to do something,” Mangold said. “We are providing them with that opportunity.”
Holiday community cleanups are a tradition for RE Sources. The cleanup of Locust Beach was historically scheduled for July 5 but was moved to February last year, Mangold said.
“It was definitely the right call. At our last February one there we picked up over 1,000 pounds of trash, mostly boat wreckage,” Mangold said. “Volunteers were also able to get off trail into the woods in areas that they normally wouldn’t be able to get into during the summer because it was so overgrown.”
RE Sources will provide necessary equipment, including gloves, buckets and trash-grabbers.
RE Sources partners with the Surfrider Foundation, the Community Food Co-Op and Whatcom County-based waste management company Recycling & Disposal Services to remove all the trash collected. Snacks will be provided by the Bagerly.
Participants are asked to register at the RE Sources website, then gather at 3199 Locust Ave. in Bellingham at 10 a.m. Saturday.
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