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NAC Disco Beach Project

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The Naturist Action Committee (NAC) Discovery Beach Cleanup Project is a collaborative grassroots project between NAC, local groups and individuals and the City of Seattle Department of Parks & Recreation to organize four beach cleanups at Discovery Park in 2006. These are clothed events, but a great way for nudists, naturists and other skinny-dippers to show the City that we are a valuable part of the community. There is something to do for ANYONE who wishes to help out, no matter whether you are young or old, fit or not-so-fit.

Contents

[edit] Next events

See also Previous events

[edit] Dates

  • No dates announced yet for the 2007 season. Please check back for updates as they become available.

[edit] Time and Place

10:00 am - 1:00 pm. We'll all meet by 9:45 am at the East Parking Lot in Discovery Park next to the Environmental Learning Center/Visitor Center.

[edit] Directions and Map

To Discovery Park Environmental Learning Center ast 3801 W Government Way, Seattle, WA 98199 by bus or car:

http://cityofseattle.net/parks/Environment/discovparkdirections.htm

Google map: http://tinyurl.com/k945z

[edit] Contact info

Mark Storey, NAC Board Member, Storey98 @ aol.com

[edit] What to bring

  • Arrive in work clothes.
  • Work gloves if you have a favorite pair
  • Some people also bring knee pads just in case
  • A windbreaker or jacket for windy, cold or rainy days
  • Otherwise the City will supply everything that we need.

[edit] Previous events

Total volunteer hours thus far = (63 + 57 + 27 + 12.5 = 159.5 volunteer hours!!)
  • March 18, 2006: 21 people x 3 hours beach work = 63 volunteer hours
The March 18 installment of the NAC Discovery Beach Project, co-hosted by The SLUGS, turned out better than I had hoped. Even thought the weather started out really iffy, 21 naturists, nudists, and other skinny-dipping enthusiasts arrived for a clothed beach cleanup of South Beach. The Parks & Rec folks were hoping for 10-15 volunteers, but were delighted and surprised that so many more showed up. Our lead docent told us that it was the largest and most effective beach cleanup that particular stretch of beach has ever seen. Way to go!
It was fun to hear various naturists explain who we were to the city docents leading us and to the other volunteers who joined us this Saturday morning. I had made clear that the Naturist Action Committee was a naturist group whose mission was to advance and defend the clothing-optional use of public and private lands, but that for THIS particular project, we just wanted to be good, neighborly citizens and work with the city to make the North and South Beaches of Discovery Park a healthier place for all to enjoy. Seattle officials were happy to hook up wit NAC, but it took all morning and some humorous conversations to get the word out to each individual city employee and volunteer we worked with.
I found it odd what impressed those working withteh city. As we were leaving the Visitor Center on our way to pizza afterwards, the lady at the front desk was telling another docent from another group how "organized" we were in the giving away of our TNS prizes, how we all showed up on time, how we all simply did what we were asked to do, and did so witha smile. It all seemed like naturist business as usual to me, but apparently the city finds many volunteer groups to be a bit of a chore to work with. I'm 100% delighted with the initial impression naturists have made on the multiple levels of Seattle Parks & Rec Department. This can only serve us well in the future.
Ugh! That was the hardest beach cleanup I've ever done...still it was fun to be around so many good-natured people. I STILL want a signed letter of thanks from a flock of birds. Apparently they eat the Styrofoam and get poisoned by it.
Thanks to all who participated, and thanks especially to The SLUGS for being the first group to step forward and say, "Yes, we are interested in doing something collaborative and proactive to help get a clothing-optional beach in the area!" For more information on The SLUGS, see http://slimetrail.org. - Mark
  • April 22 (Earth Day), 2006 19 people x 3 hours beach work = 57 volunteer hours.
"I'm sure happy with how the April 22 NAC Discovery Beach Project cleanup went. We drew 19 people for a sunny three-hour cleanup of Seattle's South Beach at Discovery Park. The Parks Department had us picking up those crazy bits of Styrofoam again, and this time hooked us up witha group from some sort of Walt Disney corporation. (What a combination of groups!) Birds are pecking at the pieces of Styrofoam and getting poisoned, and that's what Park authorities are most worried about at the beach right now. Saturday's NAC group was happy to oblige the Sattle Parks Department's wishes for those three short hours.
Most of us went out for pizza afterwards, as NAC was buying to say "thank you" to those who participated. TNS also provided hats, shirts, and gift certificates to raffle off among the participants. I'd say that it was a fun way to spend Earth Day, and more city workers and volunteer staff got to know what naturists and other skinny-dippers are like.
Thanks to all who came out to help this Saturday! And especially to the Body Freedom Collaborative for co-hosting this April 22 event, and to The SLUGS who came out in impressive numbers once again." - Mark
  • September 23, 2006 9 people x 3 hours beach work = 27 volunteer hours.
Three down, one to go. Setting precedent once again, I'd like to offer a quick "cliche-free" update on the Naturist Action Committee's September 23 beach cleanup in Seattle, Washington. :)
Nine men and women arrived to pull invasive, nonnative blackberries from Discovery Park's North Beach today. The weather was sunny and over 70 degrees, so saner people were probably naked in one fun fashion or another elsewhere. Still, we came, we saw blackberries, and we conquered them. (That may be a cliche; sorry.)
NAC provided our fill of pizza afterwards, and most--if not all--of us are now ready for the fourth and final three-hour work day of the NAC Discovery Beach Project on Saturday, October 21.
Thanks to THE SLUGS who co-hosted this day's cleanup with NAC! That naturist club is putting all others in Washington to shame with their continual and effective support of projects promoting family-friendly social nudity on public lands and beyond private, gated environments. -Mark
  • October 21, 2006, 5 people x 2.5 hours planting work = 12.5 volunteer hours.
Our final cleanup of the year was a nice change from previous events in that it involved planting and also as the first time we did not work on the beach. This time we worked alongside a large group of Girl Scouts in planting native trees and shrubs in the vicinity of the Environmental Learning Center/Visitor Center. The event ended a bit early when we ran out of plants and mulch for the project. Mark Storey served the entire crew as the water truck man, serving up water for a mud mix for the newly planted trees. The NAC crew worked on the hillside while the Scouts and parents worked on the larger, flatter area below.

[edit] TNS links

[edit] Supporting organizations

  • Sun Lover's Under Grey Skies (SLUGS) is a naturist travel club located in the Puget Sound area in the State of Washington. Most of our members live in the greater Seattle area, but we have members from the Olympic Peninsula to Ellensburg, the Tri-Cities, and as far away as Pullman and Walla Walla in eastern Washington, and from Vancouver, B.C. to Oregon.
  • Body Freedom Collaborative (BFC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the integration and acceptance of non-sexual social nudity in a variety of public and private settings.
  • Magnuson Beach Bares
  • Oregon Clothing-Optional Beach Alliance (ORCOBA) A non-profit, grass-roots collection of individuals dedicated to the preservation, maintenance, protection and promotion of family-friendly, clothing-optional recreation at Oregon's two officially-designated nude beaches, Sauvie Island (Collins Beach) and Rooster Rock State Park.
  • WNBR Seattle and Seattle Wiki site
  • Body Pride Ride (aka BPR and Beeper) (June)

[edit] Press coverage

  • The Nude & Natural Newsletter of The Naturist Society "Discovery Beach Project: Local effort acknowledges the importance of developing positive local relationships" Article by Mark Storey. Three photos by John Cornicello. June 2006 issue. Mentions and documents BFC's involvment in the NAC effort, which BFC initially started. Front page, two pages. April 2006 issue.
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