Keep Panama City Beach Beautiful takes advantage of extra calendar day

Keep Panama City Beach Beautiful (Keep PCB Beautiful) in Florida hosted its Leap Day Beach Cleanup on none other than Leap Day, Saturday, Feb. 29. More than 200 volunteers joined Keep PCB Beautiful to collect litter and learn about the imperiled species that use the local beaches.

Keep PCB Beautiful partnered with the following resort properties for the cleanup sites: Bikini Beach Resort, SpringHill Suites, and Hampton Inn. In total, volunteers collected nearly 1,300 pounds of trash and debris across the three beaches. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Audubon Florida, and Panama City Beach Turtle Watch were at the event to offer participants educational information.

“We had Florida Panhandle Bird Stewards on the beach teaching our volunteers about our shorebirds and the importance of respecting the nesting birds and protecting the dunes,” said JoAnn Weatherford, president of Keep PCB Beautiful. “PCB Turtle Watch volunteers [taught our] volunteers what they can do to help our nesting sea turtles. They talked about filling holes, knocking down sandcastles and the dangers of lighting issues.”

To continue the education, SpringHill Suites will be working with Audubon Florida and PCB Turtle Watch to set up a learning corner at its resorts.

Following the cleanup event, volunteers enjoyed a free concert with live music from the Maze Band, which was hosted by SpringHill Suites by Marriott.

Keep PCB Beautiful is active in hosting beach cleanups; it hosts events every other Wednesday evening and two Saturdays each month. For a full list of upcoming events, click here.