We partnered with local realtors this July to remove roughly two tons of trash from local beaches, canals, and waterways. The Marco Island Area Association of REALTORS® (MIAAOR), the Coconut Coast Organization of REALTORS® (CCOR), and the Naples Area Board of REALTORS® (NABOR) each hosted a cleanup as part of the statewide Clean Up Florida Waters initiative, bringing out a combined 137 volunteers over the course of the month.
The series began July 8, when CCOR volunteers gathered at Barefoot Beach to clear litter and debris from the shoreline. On July 25, MIAAOR sent more than 50 volunteers out on over 10 boats to collect debris from the mangroves and shorelines around East Marco Bay and Keewaydin Island, areas not easily reached from land. The month concluded July 31 with a cleanup organized by NABOR and the Bayshore Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), which focused on clearing debris from the canals around the Bayshore area.
Clean Up Florida Waters is an annual environmental initiative spearheaded by Florida Realtors®, now in its sixth year, in which local Realtor associations across the state organize cleanups of beaches, lakes, and other waterways each July. In Collier County, MIAAOR, CCOR, and NABOR localize the statewide effort by partnering with KCB to identify sites, recruit volunteers, and coordinate logistics for each cleanup.
“Partnering with our local Realtor associations to protect Collier County’s waterways has been incredibly rewarding, and we’re hopeful this can grow into an annual tradition,” said Larry Berg, President of Keep Collier Beautiful.
Volunteers interested in getting involved in KCB’s next cleanup, the 2026 International Coastal Cleanup on Saturday, September 19, can register at keepcollierbeautiful.com. Those interested in serving as a site captain should email keepcollierbeautiful2021@gmail.com.
