Sunny skies and a warm breeze made it a beautiful day to be on Edmonds beaches Saturday, and an even better day to participate in the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup project. Volunteers of all ages donned gloves and filled bags of trash collected at the Edmonds Marsh and beaches during the local event, coordinated by the Edmonds Wildlife Habitat & Sustainability Project.

Those checking in at Olympic Beach Plaza were greeted by members of Girl Scout Troop 41700, where girls from the Edmonds-based troop were earning community service hours for their Silver Award. Alyssa Larimer and Emily Flick, both age 12 and students at Maplewood K-8 school, explained how they created “Priscilla, the Litter Monster,” an attention-getting creation that troop members designed and built from wood. Cleanup volunteers were encouraged to attach examples of collected litter on Priscilla, and also were invited to participate in a troop-sponsored scavenger hunt. Those completing the hunt had their choice of two handmade green-themed prizes, known in Girl Scout lingo as SWAPS (Special Whatchamacallit Affectionately Pinned Somewhere).

Girl Scout Troop 41700 include co-leaders Lori Cullinan and Kris Johnson, and the following members, all from Edmonds: Emily Flick, Alyssa Larimer, Samantha Cullinan, Katherine Walter, Lauren Brasanna, Lauren Lundberg, Claire Noble, Libby Otto, Amanda Paavola, Megan Pearl, Alyson Podesta and Ally Poirier. All of the girls attend Maplewood except Libby, who goes to Seattle’s Bush School.

Additional photos of volunteers at the beach cleanup can be found here.