Defenders of the Coast collects 43 bags of trash along SR 115

A group led by Defenders of the Coast President CJ Ripley collected 43 bags of trash along state Route 115 on Saturday.

Adorned in yellow safety vests and equipped with grabbers and trash bags, this band of eight volunteers (on this day) patrolled the shoulders of SR 115 for three hours or so and collected trash and debris from Coast Communications to Hogans Corner.

According to its Facebook page, Defenders of the Coast “is a community-driven organization dedicated to preserving the natural beauty of our coastal home.” Recently, Defenders of the Coast reported 4.5 tons of trash collected during the first four months of the year.

Ripley, who makes sure to have volunteers fill out requisite paperwork and gives a proper safety briefing, says Defenders of the Coast was formed after problems with trash and debris were identified.

“We identified a problem here in town and we wanted to bring the community together so that we could clean up the areas tourists and residents all get to see and make it a cleaner place for everyone to enjoy and so the wildlife doesn’t have to eat plastic lids and everything else,” Ripley said. “Leveraging my experience from law enforcement, traffic management, safety and stuff like that, I want to ensure that all the volunteers who come out are fully protected by the state or the city, under their insurance. That way if something happens, they’re covered.”

Ripley, a retired law enforcement officer, said he tries to incentivize the volunteers with appreciation lunches and swag. He said a dedicated core participates in just about every clean-up event. He also mentioned that many people support Defenders of the Coast in other ways if they cannot physically participate.

“We have almost 300 members in our group and we have about 15-20 that come out, the die-hards are what I call them, that are always consistently there,” Ripley said. “There’s a lot of people who can’t come out who support us in other ways, either financially to keep us going, stuff like that to keep us motivated.”

There are several ways to get in touch with the Defenders of the Coast if you are interested in volunteering.

“I understand that some people don’t do the social media thing, I completely respect that, it’s kind of crazy out there,” Ripley said. “We have a Facebook page, we have an Instagram page, I have a YouTube video channel that I use for drone shots and pictures of the area. I also send out emails. I try to collect as many emails as I can when we do our clean-ups. If the volunteer would prefer that method, I can also email the information.”

The organization can be found on Facebook at AAH Defenders of the Coast-Ocean Shores and on Instagram @defendersofthecoast. The next clean-up event is a team-up with the VFW set for Wednesday, May 21 at 9 a.m. The VFW Post located at 953 Trent Court in Ocean Shores will be the rally point. Defenders of the Coast also plans to be on hand for Ocean Shores’ Flag Day Parade on June 14.