Army of volunteers cleans up Redland 

School children, politicians, mums and dads donned raincoats and gloves to scour parks, foreshores, streets and the city's islands.

Rain did not dampen the fun for members of Reef Check Australia, Wild Mob and the Australian Marine Conservation Society who took to the water around Amity Point to pick up tangled fishing line and offshore rubbish.

The group of 36 volunteers combed the beaches and a team of divers went into the bay to ensure Amity was clean both above and below the water.

Reef Check Australia's Jodi Salmond said the group picked up 244kg of rubbish, including 39kg of tangled fishing line from under the water.

They also bagged 767 cigarette butts.

"The most interesting thing we found was a child's scooter at the bottom of the ocean absolutely covered with barnacles," she said.

"Mismatched thongs, fake finger nails, and a car tyre were amongst hundreds of plastic items."

Australia Zoo Joeys also helped out on Straddie and picked up paper and plastic washed up along Point Lookout Beach.

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Continued pageTeams with umbrellas and plastic garbage bags picked up thousands of plastic drink lids, fast food wrappers and even old shoes from spots including Judy Holt Reserve, Tingalpa Creek, Railway Parade at Thorneside,

For the 10th year in a row, the Judy Holt Bush care group, headed by former Division 8 councillor Kathy Reimers, cleaned up the Judy Holt Reserve on William Street and Crown Road, where they have held ongoing clean-ups during the year.

The rain meant volunteer numbers at Judy Holt were slightly down on last year, when more than 40 people, including members of the Manly Lota scouts, participated.

Scouts, Guides and Brownies from Mount Cotton, Victoria Point, Cleveland and Capalaba joined in the clean-up, despite the rain.

Volunteers also took to the parks, streets and beaches on Macleay, Coochiemudlo and Karragarra islands. Wildlife Queensland's Bayside branch members also helped out in Redland Bay, despite the threat of rain.

Jack Gordon Pathway and The Esplanade in Redland Bay were combed and Division 4 councillor Lance Hewlett rewarded volunteers and Leo and Lion clubs members at Yeo Park, Thompson's Beach, with a barbecue lunch.

Member for Redlands Peter Dowling also found time to pick up rubbish at Victoria Point before heading off to Cleveland to meet Mayor Karen Williams, Member for Cleveland Mark Robinson and Member for Bowman Andrew Laming to present certificates of merit to volunteers who helped clean up after the Australia Day storms.

Pheland and Emmett streets in Cleveland were also given a spruce up and the Cleveland City Lions Club made sure Oyster Point park was spick and span.

An estimated 550,300 volunteers joined Clean Up Australia Day across the country and early figures predict they collected 16,150 tonnes of rubbish.

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