Forever Beautiful SPI, the simple beach clean up organization that works with the city of South Padre Island to keep the Island’s beaches clean, will have a spring beach cleanup from 9-11 a.m. April 5 at the Isla Grand Beach Resort, and April 9 at The Courtyard By Marriott SPI.

“We encourage everybody to come on out and help keep our beach beautiful,” said Meg Clifton, the organization’s vice president. “You don’t have to bring anything as far as equipment. We provide everything, we provide the water we provide the pick-up sticks, we provide the bags or buckets to put the garbage in. If they need to provide sunscreen or a hat, that’s on them.”

Forever Beautiful SPI has been organizing beach cleanups on the Island for four years.

“We’re a simple beach cleanup, which means we don’t do raffles, we don’t do give-aways, the only thing that’s going to entice you to come is the fact that you’d like to see the beach be clean and help the environment,” Clifton said.

“We’re going to have some volunteers from Sea Turtle Inc. come out and join us, which is good because if the volunteers want to know they can tell them how it affects the turtles to have all that garbage on the beach and how bad it is for them. … There’s just a lot of stuff that people don’t realize is out there.”

Michael Sularz, the group’s president, said there is a core membership of about 12 people.

“Our main aim is education and to let these kids know that it’s cool to come out and pick up the trash off the beach. It’s really cool not to litter but it’s also really cool to pick up litter, and we’re kind of hoping that this will sink into the next generation and maybe littering will become a thing of the past, hopefully.”

Meanwhile, the Texas General Land Office annual spring Adopt-A-Beach cleanup is from 9 .m. to 12 p.m. Saturday, April 9 all along the Texas coast.

From left, Meg Clifton, Terry Barrett and Michael Sularz of Forever Beautiful SPI at Bar Louie Beach Bar at the Courtyard By Marriott after a beach cleanup. (Courtesy photo)

Forever Beautiful SPI will be cleaning the beach that day at The Courtyard By Marriott SPI.

Cameron County sites are:

>> Andy Bowie Park, 7200 State Park Road 100 at Access Road No 2,

>> South Padre Island City Beaches at the Gulf Circle access point on Gulf Boulevard, between Palm and Corral Streets, and

>> Boca Chica Beach at the end of State Highway. 4.

Online registration and more information are available at texasadoptabeach.org. Adopt-A-Beach advises wearing sturdy shoes, not open-toed sandals. High spf sunscreen and a hat are also recommended, along with bringing garden gloves and a refillable water bottle.

Forever Beautiful SPI members gather for a group photo after a recent beach cleanup. (Courtesy photo)

Adopt-A-Beach coordinators will provide trash bags and non-latex gloves to clean the beach. You will also receive data cards and pencils to track the type of trash you are removing from the beach

Due to tide patterns in the Gulf of Mexico, trash dumped anywhere in the Gulf is likely to end up on a Texas beach. Cleanup volunteers record information such as the source and type of debris. This data has been instrumental in the passage of international treaties and laws aimed at reducing the amount of offshore dumping.

Since 1986, more than 553,000 volunteers have helped remove over 11,000 tons of trash from Texas beaches during Adopt-A-Beach events. Interested participants can register ahead of time at the Adopt-A-Beach site and view the 23 cleanup locations spread along the Texas coast on an interactive map.

This year’s state sponsors include the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Valero, the Texas Coastal Management Program, ExxonMobil, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock, Flint Hills, Gulf Copper, Altos Plantos Mijenta Tequila, and iwi Life.

This is a rain or shine event. For updates and more information, visit texasadoptabeach.org