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2008 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 574
Commending the Clean the Bay Day's 20th anniversary.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, March 5, 2008
Agreed to by the Senate, March 6, 2008

 

WHEREAS, twelve dedicated Virginia Beach citizens, concerned about litter and debris plaguing their favorite shorelines, banded together in 1989 to start Clean the Bay Day; and

WHEREAS, the effort began in Virginia Beach as a grassroots effort to provide proper stewardship and awareness to the environment of the Chesapeake Bay; and

WHEREAS, in its second year the effort included the Virginia Beach Clean Community Commission and then in future years included the leadership of the Norfolk Environmental Commission and other South Hampton Roads and Peninsula organizations; and

WHEREAS, in 2000 the hardworking and dedicated organizers handed their flourishing Clean the Bay Day project over to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, which had the resources to expand it into the important campaign it is today; and

WHEREAS, since the first Clean the Bay Day in 1989, more than 81,350 volunteers have removed more than four million pounds of debris from 3,913 miles of area shoreline; and

WHEREAS, 6,386 dedicated volunteers set a record in 2007 with the removal of 212,071 pounds of litter from 336 miles of shoreline; and

WHEREAS, Virginia Beach Clean the Bay Day has spread to Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Hampton, Gloucester, Harrisonburg, James City County, Mathews County, Newport News, Poquoson, Smithfield, Suffolk, and York County; and

WHEREAS, Clean the Bay Day has led to other vital environmental grassroots efforts including Lynnhaven Now and the Elizabeth River Project; and

WHEREAS, Clean the Bay Day, held annually on a Saturday morning in mid-June, is a great opportunity for individuals, families, and groups to help clean up debris from Virginia’s treasured waterways and to help save the Bay; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly commend and congratulate the local organizers of Clean the Bay Day in Virginia on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Clean the Bay Day; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare copies of this resolution for presentation to the local Clean the Bay Day organizations of Hampton Roads as an expression of the General Assembly’s gratitude to the organizers and volunteers for their commitment to restore the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed for the use and enjoyment of future generations.