Volunteers implement massive countywide cleanup

By Ian Swaby, Dana Kampa
| 8:55 a.m. April 12, 2025

Greg Corban and his wife Katy Corban clean up trash.

Longboat Key
Neighbors

For Serena Thompson, the need to keep the beach clean was self-explanatory.

"Honestly, just walking on it, and you see how beautiful it is, you wouldn't want to see all that trash and stuff, and it's bad for the environment. So, yeah, everyday thing," she said.

Thompson was one volunteer who headed out to Siesta Key, a site where volunteer slots filled up for the Greatest American Cleanup on April 12.

The cleanup spanned areas across Sarasota County, from beaches to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park.

Held by Keep Sarasota County Beautiful, the event was part of a nationwide cleanup by Keep America Beautiful that attracts more than 5 million individuals each year.

According to the county's website, volunteers’ work has returned $175 million in measurable benefits across participating communities over the past five years.

Staff at the construction company Moss and the engineering firm Kimley-Horn drove the cleanup efforts at Lido Beach, bringing together about 20 volunteers.

"Both companies are in the construction industry," civil engineer Andrew Pluta said. "We've worked together on a lot of great projects, including some of the really nice skyscrapers here. We just wanted to connect and do some good for the area."

He added community members don't need to wait for organized events to keep some of the best beaches in the country pristine.

Hunter Jensen, program coordinator for Sarasota County, said for the first time, the cleanup featured captains for individual sites. He also noted this time, litter is weighed, while volunteers took observation forms to fill out.

He said in Siesta Key, volunteers were finding many cigarette butts, despite cigarettes being banned on the beach, as well as many plastic casings and wrappings.

Keep Sarasota County Beautiful also hosts the Liberty Litter Cleanup after July 4 and the International Coastal Cleanup in the fall.

Stephanie King and Casey Anderson comb beachside vegetation at Lido Beach as part of the Greatest American Cleanup.

Stephanie King and Casey Anderson of Moss said they were glad to pitch in for the Saturday morning cleanup.

Though the sands at Lido Beach are spectacularly beautiful, volunteers diligently combed through the perimeter to do their part for the Greatest American Cleanup.

Andrew and Susan Pluta and Vanessa Oliveira help coordinate the Lido Beach cleanup, part of a wider cleanup effort throughout Sarasota County that took place Saturday.

Volunteers from the construction company Moss and the engineering firm Kimley-Horn collaborated to cleanup Lido Beach.

Mendi Mays and Taylor DiPietro from Kimley-Horn said everyone should care about keeping Sarasota's beaches clean.

Hunter Jensen, program coordinator of Keep Sarasota County Beautiful

Serena Thompson signs in with help from Penny Long.

Site leaders Jerry and Penny Long start the cleanup.

Reagan Sturtevant picks up trash with her mother Alicia MacFarlane.

author

Ian Swaby

Ian Swaby is the Sarasota neighbors writer for the Observer. Ian is a Florida State University graduate of Editing, Writing, and Media and previously worked in the publishing industry in the Cayman Islands.

author

Dana Kampa

Dana Kampa is the Longboat Key neighbors reporter for the Observer. She first ventured into journalism in her home state of Wisconsin, going on to report community stories everywhere from the snowy mountains of Washington State to the sunny shores of the Caribbean. She has been a writer and photographer for more than a decade, covering what matters most to readers.