DNREC's Adopt-A-Beach program is a partnership between Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and volunteers, working in tandem to protect and enhance Delaware's beaches.
Going beyond just picking up litter, DNREC’s aims for the Adopt-A-Beach program are to educate and inform citizens about responsibilities of land stewardship, also highlighting the importance of and enjoyment from one of the state’s greatest natural resources. Adopt-A -Beach is ultimately about people caring enough to make a difference in their environment.
Small sections of beach along Delaware’s Atlantic coast, each approximately ½-mile, have been designated for adoption through the program. Adopt-A-Beach volunteers commit to conducting at least four cleanups over two years. Cleanups take place each year during spring and summer—between April 15-May 15 and from mid-August to mid-September, preferably starting simultaneously with the annual Coastal Cleanup.
Adopt-A-Beach participants may also stage additional cleanups, with DNREC providing trash bags, gloves and report forms for information gathered and sent to the department. Signs marking and attesting to each beach adopter’s involvement in the program will be posted at their designated area.
Participants, of course, know their volunteer work brings more from the program than publicity. They get the satisfaction of knowing that their efforts have a direct effect on Delaware’s quality of life for present and future generations.
For more information about the Adopt-A-Beach program, please contact Jennifer Luoma Wheatley of DNREC’s Division of Soil and Water Conservation at 302-739-9921.
