AUSTIN — AUSTIN - Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush is calling on volunteers for the 13^th Annual Winter Beach Cleanups to be held Friday, Feb. 10^th in the Rio Grande Valley on South Padre Island and Saturday, Feb. 11^th at seven Coastal Bend beaches.  Registration for all begins at 8:30 a.m. The cleanup will begin at 9 a.m. Volunteers are asked to wear closed-toe shoes and bring plenty of drinking water. Adopt-A-Beach will provide all necessary materials. 

The locations participating in the Winter Beach Cleanup are: 

Rio Grande Valley (one location):

• South Padre Island – Andy Bowie Park, Access Road #2, Hwy 100, 7300 State Park Rd 100, South Padre Island, TX 78597

Coastal Bend (seven locations):

• Rockport − Check-in is at Rockport Beach Park pavilion. Contact Kerry Goodall at 361-729-6661 or via e-mail at kerry.goodall@texasadoptabeach.org.
• Aransas Pass/Redfish Bay − Check-in is at Lighthouse Lakes Park, four miles east of Aransas Pass on Highway 361. Contact Richard Gonzales at 361-779-7351 or via e-mail at richard.gonzales@texasadoptabeach.org.
• Port Aransas − Check-in is at Avenue G at the beach. Contact Harry Martinez at 361-215-2763 or via e-mail at harry.martinez@texasadoptabeach.org.
• Packery Flats − Check-in is at the parking lot off Highway 361 on Mustang Island near near Packery Channel.  Contact Jace Tunnell, with Coastal Bays Foundation at 361-882-3439 or via e-mail at jace.tunnell@texasadoptabeach.org or cbbf@baysfoundation.org.
• North Corpus Christi Beach − Check-in is at the Texas State Aquarium, 2710 N. Shoreline Blvd. Contact Rosanna Gossett at 361-881-1204 or via e-mail at rosanna.gossett@texasadoptabeach.org. 
• Kid's Place at Cole Park − Check-in is at 1526 Ocean Drive, contact Celina Ybarbo-Pulcher at 361-765-1900 or via e-mail at celina.pulcher@texasadoptabeach.org.
• Padre Island National Seashore − Check in at the Malaquite Visitor Center, 20420 Park Road 22, contact Buzz Botts at 361-949-8068 or via e-mail at buzz.botts@texasadoptabeach.org.

The Winter Beach Cleanup is one of three all-volunteer seasonal cleanups coordinated through the Adopt-A-Beach program of the Texas General Land Office.  

Most trash found on Texas beaches is left there by litterbugs. Since 1986, Adopt-A-Beach volunteers have picked up 9,300 tons of trash, which is the equivalent to the weight of 62 blue whales, making it one of the most successful volunteer programs in the nation. Volunteers record data on the trash to learn more about the causes of marine debris and to help mitigate pollution along Texas' 367 miles of coastline.

The Texas General Land Office's Adopt-A-Beach program is funded primarily by private contributions. To help out, or for more information, call the Adopt-A-Beach program at 1-877-TXCOAST or visit our website at TexasAdoptABeach.org. You can follow Adopt-A-Beach on Facebook at Facebook.com/TexasAdoptABeach or on Twitter at Twitter.com/TXAdoptABeach.  

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