A decade of dedication: The Great Fundy Coastal Cleanup turns love of place into action for nature
A decade of dedication
The Great Fundy Coastal Cleanup turns love of place into action for nature
WRITTEN BY SUZANNE SHAH, COMMUNICATIONS INTERN
It was a quiet evening on South Wolf Island Nature Preserve—just the steady ebb of the tide, the eerie joy of Leach’s petrels returning to their nests, and the breath of whales echoing over the dark Bay of Fundy water. Eric and Jane Hadley were camping, having been given special permission as part of the Great Fundy Coastal Cleanup, and they lay wrapped in starlight and salt air.
Eric and Jane Hadley at our 2024 Navy Island Nature Preserve cleanup (photo by Lukas Kohler)
“We could hear and see whales just off from our campsite at night,” Eric remembered. “[And] the petrels had this funny call—something like, ‘yippee eye-ay!’”
Jane smiled. “We’ve always taken great interest in the nature around us. To get a chance to clean it up was really special.”
For 10 years, the Nature Trust of New Brunswick’s Great Fundy Coastal Cleanup has made moments like this possible for hundreds of volunteers who’ve spent a day giving back to the nature they love so much, collecting litter and marine debris before the world’s highest tides carry it deeper into the environment.
The 10th anniversary of this provincewide day of action takes place on Saturday, Sept. 27. Once again, dozens of partners and hundreds of volunteers will gather at some of the Bay of Fundy’s most iconic and remote nature preserves to help restore these beautiful habitats to their natural state.
But the cleanup has always been about more than just the garbage. It’s about showing up. About being present. About remembering that this coastline—wild, worn, and full of wonder—deserves to be seen, and kept pristine.
That’s why people return. Laurie Campbell has been part of the cleanup since its very first year.
“I couldn’t believe the difference we made that day,” recalled Laurie. “The Bay of Fundy is probably one of my favorite spots in the whole world. It’s kind of balm for the soul. Any time I go down there, I just feel at peace.”
Like many volunteers, Laurie didn’t come from a background in science or conservation. But she loved spending time in nature, and when she heard about the Nature Trust and its shoreline cleanup, she thought it would be a good fit.
Laurie Campbell joining a cleanup at our Connors Bros Nature Preserve at Pea Point in 2023 (photo by J. Hurley)
“To me, it’s a really worthwhile activity,” she said. “And I feel really good knowing that anyone who comes to visit those trails or paddle along those waters, after I’ve been there with a group of volunteers or staff from the Nature Trust, they’re going to be really impressed because it’s going to look good.”
The Nature Trust has held coastal clean ups since its early days in the ‘90s. “Some years we got upwards of two tonnes of garbage on the barge,” recalled Margo Shephard, the executive director at the time. “Those were the days when you would find refrigerators, feed bags, rope, bed frames, ovens, and mostly styrofoam strewn all over the beaches.”
Sometimes, in those early efforts, it felt overwhelming.
“You go to a beach, you clean it up, and then a few days later you go back and it’s like you never were there,” said Bethany Pohl, a past staff member who helped spearhead the Great Fundy Coastal Cleanup.
She said the idea began as a coordinated weekend effort to hit as many nature preserves around the Bay of Fundy as possible, so that many hands could act at once, as one, across many sites.
“It’s been really remarkable to see people come back year after year because it’s so fun to get out and to see the difference you can make in just a few hours with 200 volunteers—it’s quite amazing,” said Bethany, who used to get curious looks from cashiers at the grocery store because she would bring her own fabric bags long before single-use plastic bags started being phased out. "My mom did it, so ... I've always done that."
Other volunteers, like Laurie, say participating in the annual beach cleanup made them reflect on the things they bought and opened their eyes to the impact of today’s single-use, throwaway culture.
“I cannot get over the amount of plastic water bottles that we find on beaches, or up on cliffs above the shoreline,” Laurie said. “They’re just everywhere, it really turned me off buying bottled water. I never used to think about that impact. But there’s a better way, so now I always have my own metal water bottle.”
Bethany Pohl at our 2022 Frye Island Nature Preserve cleanup (photo by J. Hurley)
While there have been some unusual finds from the cleanups over the years—like one beach scattered with more than 30 leather shoes, an old flare from a flare gun, and more than one weather-stained, creepy doll—the trash collected largely falls into two categories.
There is consumer waste, like cigarette butts, food containers and other packaging, and plastics in various stages of breaking down—from water bottles and caps to plastic bags. And debris from marine industries: old fishing nets and ropes embedded in sands that take considerable effort to haul and cut out, PVC piping from aquaculture pens, and styrofoam blocks of all shapes and sizes.
The exact mix varies by site and year, but the impact is the same: removing materials before they break down into smaller pieces that are harder (or impossible) to recover helps wildlife and keeps wild places wild. Over 10 years, Great Fundy Coastal Cleanup volunteers have combed 160+ kilometres of shoreline, filled 1,580+ big garbage bags, and removed more than 150,000 pounds of debris—material that’s now out of sensitive habitats and disposed of properly.
This year’s effort includes Nature Trust–hosted sites and partner-led cleanups, which were split between two dates, Sept. 13 and Sept. 27, and self-led cleanups that anyone can organize with friends, family, colleagues, or a community group.
Every Nature Trust-led, partner-led, or self-led cleanup you join earns you a ballot for a prize pack draw valued at over $250, featuring goodies like two adult gift certificates from Jolly Breeze Whale Watching Adventures, a ‘Breakfast with the Seals Adventure’ (for two or four people) at 50% off from InStep Adventure, Saltwinds Ocean Air Coffee, Topsail Canvas pouches, and more Nature Trust swag.
Self-led cleanups must be organized and registered by Sept. 30 to be eligible.
Everyone who participates in a cleanup is encouraged to attend our free community BBQ at Connors Bros. Nature Preserve at Pea Point, taking place at 4 p.m. on Sept. 27, to celebrate not just this year’s effort but 10 years of coastal care.
🌊 WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE? JOIN US FOR OUR MILESTONE TENTH YEAR!
Click the button below to view all our upcoming cleanup sites on Saturday, September 27 or learn how to lead your own cleanup until September 30.
Every time you register for a cleanup or lead your own, you’ll get entered into a draw for a cool prize package worth over $250!
Carli le Roux, the Nature Trust’s acting CEO, says the anniversary is as much a celebration of community as it is of conservation.
“The GFCC is people-powered conservation. Ten years on, volunteers are still turning care into action—and that’s what keeps our coast thriving,” le Roux says, adding that the cleanup is possible thanks to boating partners like Connors Bros., Cooke Aquaculture, Mowi, and the Fundy North Fishermen’s Association, the teamwork of ENGO partners, and generous support from sponsors including TD Friends of the Environment Foundation, Fundy Community Foundation, and the Davis Conservation Foundation.
Colleen Lang reflects on what’s kept her coming to the shore each year (photo by Gabriella Mascarenhas)
Colleen Lang has volunteered at the Great Fundy Coastal Cleanup since 2018. Asked what’s kept her coming to the shore each year, she says that, at a basic level, it’s always a good day outdoors with a group of likeminded people. But there’s something deeper there, too.
“You know, every year you go back, sort of hoping it's not going to be too bad, and then you see, ‘oh, okay, there's still work to be done,’” says Colleen, whose first-ever volunteer experience, in fact, was a cleanup for the inaugural Earth Day, in 1970.
“A lot of people might say, ‘what difference does it really make?’ I used to be skeptical in that regard. But then I realized, you know, doing something is better than doing nothing. You can try to make a difference, no matter how small it may be, you might be saving some creature or a piece of land in some small way.
“So yeah—I’ll keep going back.”
💙🎥 Want to hear more from the people who have dedicated their time, hands, and hearts to protecting the wild shoreline of the Bay of Fundy time and time again?
In this new documentary celebrating 10 years of the Great Fundy Coastal Cleanup, hear from Colleen Lang, Laurie Campbell, Charly and Laura Bonga, Jane and Eric Hadley, and Bethany Pohl, long-time members of the Nature Trust community of supporters as they share their GFCC stories and why this work matters—for the Bay, for wildlife, and for future generations.