Sable Odry, NEC Coastal Programs Coordinator
Caroline Griffith, NEC Executive Director
Craft for the Coast Trash Art Contest
The NEC is hosting its Third Annual Craft for the Coast Trash Art Contest. This is an exciting event that engages the local community through art, upcycling, trash cleanups, and community activism. Leading up to June, local artists were invited to submit art creations made from trash and upcycled materials for a chance to win a variety of prizes at the upcoming contest. Their work will be on display during Arts Arcata on June 9.
- When: June 9, 4-8pm
- Where: Our Space in the Feuerwerker Building
at 854 9th St., Arcata
The community can show support for their favorite art piece by voting for the People’s Choice Award from June 5-15 online at yournec.org/craft4coast. Each vote costs $1. Funds raised from Craft for the Coast will directly benefit the NEC’s programs such as EcoNews, community activism workshops, Coastal Cleanup Month and compassionate cleanups, Environmental Justice programs, paid internships, citizen science projects, and more.
The EPA estimates that the average American throws away 4.9 pounds of solid waste every day, however those of us who have trash service can easily ignore this reality because our waste is magically whisked away and we don’t have the experience of watching it accumulate. Craft for the Coast strives to bring awareness to issues of production and consumption and give litter a new life. By doing neighborhood cleanups and mining their own trash bins for upcycled art materials, people can prevent trash from going into our oceans and landfills. To take it a step further, the NEC embraces the idea that art is activism and has the power to influence policy and change the way we deal with waste as a community. Through the works of art that are made using trash we can bring awareness to production, consumption, our societal notions of worth and usefulness, the flaws in our trash and recycling systems, and associated environmental degradation.
Craft for the Coast encourages people to recognize the possibilities in what may have once been considered “waste.”
June Trash Cleanup
Celebrate the start of summer and come collect trash with us!
- When: June 21, 5:30-7pm
- Where: Meeting at the Hikshari Trail Parking Lot and heading north along the Eureka Waterfront Trail
- What: Enjoy the sunshine and help keep litter out of the bay this summer by collecting trash along the waterfront. Trash collecting supplies and refreshments will be provided.