Dozens of volunteers spent their Thursday morning cleaning up trash on the beach that was left behind from revelers during Independence Day celebrations.
Each morning on July 5, groups gather along the shore at Neptune, Atlantic and Jacksonville Beach.
Its all part of the "Keeping Jacksonville Clean" initiative.
For Greg Schawrtz and his daughter Ellen, the annual event is a family tradition.
"As far as environmental stewardship this is probably the easiest thing to do, I mean recycling taking your trash out putting it in a trash can its easy as breathing and eating," Schwartz said.
Jan Hanson is a longtime native of Neptune beach who helped start the annual clean-up more than 30 years ago.
"For the 5th of July it was always a mess junk all over and that's when we decided to clean up the beach," Hanson said.
She added that the focus is also on protecting endangered marine life specifically sea turtles. That's why she also helped start up the Beaches Sea Turtle Patrol non-profit organization.
"Everything that is left on the beach will go back to the ocean the ocean is so bad for the animals that live there just really bad so anything we can do to help, helps the environment," Hanson said.
This time of year is considered nesting season so she and her volunteers are out every morning along the beaches not only clean but also lend a helping hand the ocean's residents.
"We have different zones we have people that walk the beach looking for the turtle nest when we find a turtle we go locate and fence it in," Hanson said.
For more information on volunteering with the Beaches Sea Turtle Patrol Organization, you can click here.
