10/29/2026
Aimee Thompson, Rotary Club of Newport
Our Environment
In September, the Mt. Bachelor Club of Bend visited Newport for a weekend of crabbing, a microplastic cleanup, and social with Newport Rotary. It was full of connections, learning, and beautiful weather!
After hearing Newport Rotary’s microplastic presentation at the District Conference last spring, the idea was born by the Mt. Bachelor Club. Some of their members have access to accommodations near Newport and some stayed at South Beach State Park in their RV’s. When a weekend was agreed upon with the Newport club, the two clubs scheduled a microplastic cleanup on Saturday morning and a social in the evening.
Mt. Bachelor made a long weekend of it, brought their inbound exchange student, and fit in crabbing on Friday where they included Newport’s inbound exchange student and caught crab they brought to the social the next evening.
Saturday morning at 10am the group met at Agate Beach wayside for a Microplastic Cleanup led by the Newport Club and cleaned the beach for two hours with specially designed screens.
The sentiment all Mt. Bachelor Rotarians left with was astonishment. Many said “Now I’ve seen the microplastics and can identify what they are, I can’t unsee them.” They also said it made them think about the events they host and avoiding single-use plastics.
The Rotary Club of Newport hires local college OCCC students studying Aquarium Science or Science who lead microplastic cleanups all summer and have hosted groups as large as 50 from Portland and the Willamette Valley. Many of the groups find the cleanup through Oregon SOLVE’s website, the organization who organizes beach and river cleanups statewide.
Saturday evening the Mt. Bachelor Club and Newport Rotary ended the sunny day with a social at Newport President Aimee Thompson’s home for a potluck and great conversation. This is what Rotary is about – gathering together service-minded people and having fun at the same time!
