De-Sanding Hurricane Sandy #sandinmypants

Last week, Hurricane Sandy stirred up a raucous, making quite a mess of the east coast. Back home in New York, trees fell on fences, sidewalks, and cars, tons of people lost power, and public schools were cancelled for days. Gas lines are still lining up down the street in NYC, and for a while, it was impossible to drive into the city unless there were three or more people in the car. Here at BU, Monday classes and Tuesday morning classes were cancelled; a total surprise for the university notorious for holding class no matter what.

Along with affecting houses, power sources, trees, and wildlife, Hurricane Sandy also had an impact on the health and welfare of the water sources. It's easy to forget about storm water runoff polluting groundwater, overflow of rivers, and displacement of sand on beaches.

This afternoon, BU Branch Out's Leadership Collective took a trip out to South Boston to do some service at Carson Beach! Eight of us BU undergrads worked with the DCR (Department of Conservation and Recreation) on a mission to replace the sand that had been swept from the beach to the sidewalks. Shovels and rakes in hand, we shoveled sand from the sidewalk back onto the beach, and also picked up fallen leaves. Everyone did a great job!

Carson Beach! Someone had a really cool boat-swing I was so tempted to try...

The wonderful BU Branch Out volunteers, frolicking in the water!

Apparently, thousands of people, dogs, strollers, bicycles, skateboards, wheelchairs, and/or scooters frequent Carson Beach daily. Cleaning up public areas is important to encourage people to explore nature and develop an appreciation for the outdoors in a safe way. Seeing mothers with strollers, kids playing catch with their dads, and people in general enjoying a scenic walk along the newly cleaned sidewalks was my favorite part of the service event.

Afterwards, we got to watch the sunset at Castle Island; a gorgeous view and wonderful walk with some spectacular people!!!

View from the boardwalk at Castle Island, South Boston

#BUBranchOut @BUCSC #sandinmypants :D

Beach Clean Up in Dorchester

PC: Kathryn V.

Saturday, November 3rd, the Environmental Community Service group called, "BU Branch-Out" took a little trip to Malibu Beach in Dorchester MA for a beach clean-up! It was a gorgeous day to get off campus, walk around the beach and collect trash along the coast.

There were about 33 BU undergrads on the trip, a walk-on commitment led by BU Branch-Out, The Marine Science Association, and Coast Sweep. Although each of these groups has a different mission statement, they are all passionate about keeping natural habitats clean to improve the quality of life for beach critters, as well as humans who fish on the beach!

We were able to collect about 12 bags of trash, composed of a ton of plastic wrapper scraps, straws, cigarette buds, plastic bags, bottles and cans, ribbon, toys, styrofoam and the occasional condom or tampon applicator (:P). We took inventory of what we picked up in order for the Marine Association to audit. It's ridiculous how quickly the little candy wrapper scraps and other trash add up to make a huge mess that's toxic to wildlife AND a complete eyesore.

It was excellent to meet new friends and have fun while doing some great service! Excellent work by those who came!

FOLLOW ON TWITTER: @BUCSC #BUBranchOut @CoastSweep @msaatBU