Gulfport’s bi-annual volunteer Clam Bayou Nature Park Cleanup on Saturday, March 23 was held in conjunction with Keep Pinellas Beautiful, which is affiliated with the national Great American Cleanup group, said Captain Tom D’Angelo, the event coordinator. “We give volunteers everything they could possibly need like picker uppers, plastic bags, hand sanitizer, suntan lotion and bug spray. Last time, over 400 pounds of trash was collected – mostly things that come off of boats,” said D’Angelo. Pictured from left to right are some of the first people who arrived before the 9 a.m. start time: Councilmember Christine Brown, her husband Lou Worthington and their daughter Elizabeth Brown-Worthington. Wearing special rubber boots, they tackled a hard-to-get-to mangrove area in the park located adjacent to the water that yielded trash items like pieces of nautical rope and wood from broken docks, tangled bundles of fish line, a swim buoy and an overturned small boat. “We come every time they have this event,” said Brown. “We have a favorite place to clean where the wash line is. One time, Elizabeth found a pelican skull and another time, we found a bag of money – it was only about $6 in change.”
