Alabama’s Beaches

20 01, 2021

What you should know about the Leave Only Footprints program when planning your Alabama beach vacation

By |2021-01-11T21:25:17+00:00January 20th, 2021|Blog|0 Comments

January is a good time of year to plan your spring or summer vacation to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. As you choose your favorite hotel or vacation rental, we want you to be aware of our Leave Only Footprints program and what it means.   In 2016, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach adopted the Leave Only Footprints initiative to protect the beautiful white-sand beaches and keep them clean. Beach visitors are asked to remove all personal items from the beach by one hour after sunset each [...]

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6 01, 2021

Make a resolution to be environmentally friendly at the beach

By |2021-01-11T21:12:47+00:00January 6th, 2021|Blog|0 Comments

Are you a New Year’s resolution maker? If so, a good one to add to your list for 2021 is being green at the beach. It’s an easy resolution to keep if you follow our tips for your next Gulf Shores and Orange Beach visit:    Take an extra trash bag to the beach and pick up any trash you see when you make your way between your car and the water.   Walk only on boardwalks or designated paths to protect the dune systems.   Pack everything out that you brought in, and Leave [...]

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23 12, 2020

Do your part to protect local wildlife this winter

By |2020-12-15T18:36:35+00:00December 23rd, 2020|Blog|0 Comments

With more than 650 species of wildlife in Alabama, we are the fourth most biologically diverse state in the U.S. The wide range of habitats here - from the Appalachian Mountains of north Alabama to the beaches along the Gulf Coast - is the reason for so much diversity. Protecting Alabama’s coastal wildlife is one of our concerns at Leave Only Footprints.  Keeping the shorelines and beaches clean and uncluttered is aesthetically pleasing, of course. But it also protects our wildlife and waterways. In the spring and summer, sea turtles need a clear path to their [...]

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10 12, 2020

Three interesting facts about sand dollars

By |2020-12-15T18:20:41+00:00December 10th, 2020|Blog|0 Comments

Can you picture a sand dollar? The almost-flat white disc has a five-pointed flower petal shape on the back. In Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, numerous broken sand dollar pieces can be found mixed with shells. Look down as you walk near the shore and you’ll occasionally find a whole one, usually about the size of a half dollar.   Have you ever seen a live sand dollar? If you stroll the beach frequently, chances are you have. The live sand dollars found on the shoreline here are usually small (think bottle cap size), and can range in color from brown to gray and [...]

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10 11, 2020

Sea oats are the dominant players in our natural storm protection

By |2020-11-19T20:44:12+00:00November 10th, 2020|Blog|0 Comments

Earlier this year we were reminded of how fragile our beautiful coastline is. Hurricane Sally visited and definitely overstayed her welcome with hours of hurricane-force winds and torrential rain battering our beaches, homes and businesses. Do you know what is the greatest natural protection we have from storms? The sea oats and other vegetation that help hold our dunes together.   The stately sea oats can create a root system as much as 10 times the size of the rest of the plant. All of those roots hold on to sand. As sea oats [...]

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3 11, 2020

3 ways to celebrate America Recycles Day November 15

By |2020-11-19T20:40:24+00:00November 3rd, 2020|Blog|0 Comments

Way back in 1977, the National Recycling Coalition created America Recycles Day to encourage fellow Americans to commit to the act of recycling. On November 15 each year, this day is celebrated as a way to bring awareness to the importance of recycling.    Are you ready to get started on a recycling lifestyle? First of all, take the Keep America Beautiful #BeRecycled pledge.    LEARN: I will find out what materials are collected for recycling in my community.   ACT: Within the next month, I [...]

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28 10, 2020

Our Green Team business partners are important to the Leave Only Footprints program

By |2020-10-14T19:11:37+00:00October 28th, 2020|Blog|0 Comments

Having great business partners is just good business. And the Leave Only Footprints Green Team business partners are the best. The most obvious are the cities of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach keeping the beaches clean each night.   But there are also some not-so-obvious partners that help spread education and information about the program. Let’s take a look at all the partners in our Green Team.    The cities of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach  provide daily beachcombing services and collection of items left on the beaches after sunset. This helps endangered [...]

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14 10, 2020

Why marine debris is scary stuff

By |2020-10-14T18:54:30+00:00October 14th, 2020|Blog|0 Comments

Can you imagine a floating island of trash that covers an area twice the size of Texas? While it isn’t actually an island, the Great Pacific garbage patch is a large system of ocean currents containing marine debris particles in the central north Pacific Ocean. These particles of plastics and floating trash contain an estimated 87,000 metric tons of plastic. Wow!   Here on the Gulf of Mexico we aren’t dealing with a problem as massive as the Pacific. But we do have marine debris [...]

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16 09, 2020

Purple is an important color in the Beach Flag Warning System

By |2020-09-23T16:17:00+00:00September 16th, 2020|Blog|0 Comments

There are many things to be aware of when you’re enjoying a day playing and swimming at the beach. If you take precautions with sunscreen and water safety, observe the warning flags, and practice the Leave Only Footprints program, a fun day at the beach will remain fun!   Those familiar with the Alabama Beach Warning Flag System probably know what the green, yellow and red flags indicate. But do you know what the purple flag means? The purple flag is flown when dangerous marine life [...]

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2 09, 2020

“Get the Trash Out of the Splash” this month

By |2020-09-23T16:01:42+00:00September 2nd, 2020|Blog|0 Comments

The 33rd Annual Alabama Coastal Cleanup is slated for September 19, 2020. It’s your chance to volunteer with thousands of others across the world to help clean coastal waters and shorelines on International Coastal Cleanup Day. Alabama’s first Coastal Cleanup was held in 1988 and since then more than 1.5 million pounds of trash has been collected by 83,000+ volunteers.   With the number of visitors to our beautiful shores topping 5 million each year, things can get a bit dirty. The Leave Only Footprints program has helped tremendously with keeping our coastline clean, but trash still makes its [...]

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