ST. PETERSBURG - Nick and Kevin Jonas,
Demi Lovato and other
Disney Channel stars from "Camp Rock 2" were picking up cigarette butts, beer bottles and other items of trash from a shoreline near the
Skyway Bridge today.
"It's amazing to walk through a beach and see trash when it's so simple not to throw it down," says Kevin Jonas. "If everyone went to the beach and enjoyed their time there and picked up one bag of trash it would make a big difference."
The Disney stars, who were in Tampa for a Wednesday night concert, lead about 20 young volunteers in a one-hour clean-up that netted 20
burlap bags of garbage and one rusty automobile tail pipe.
The media event was designed to call attention to the importance of keeping the world's waterways, shorelines and beaches clean, says Vikki Spruill, president of the Washington, D.C.–based Ocean Conservancy.
The conservancy has teamed up with Disney's kid environmental project, Friends for Change: Project Green, to promote
International Coastal Cleanup Day on Sept. 25.
"On that day, around the globe, we will have 500,000 people out cleaning up coastlines just like what we are doing here today," Spruill said. "This is our kick-off event. What makes this project special is that we pass out data cards and all the volunteers write down what they found to track just what is being thrown down."
Attending the Skyway clean-up was 11-year Olivia Bouler, a talented wildlife artist from New York who has achieved national attention for her conservation efforts.
Also taking part in the clean-up from "Camp Rock 2" were Alyson Stoner, Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, Jordan Francis and Matthew "Mdot" Finley.
The 20 kid volunteers were recruited by Disney in Orlando. The event was videotaped by a Disney film crew for a 2-minute video report that will air on the
Disney Channel soon.
Lovato said her family has gone green.
"We went from not recycling at all and using up tons of plastic bottled water to replacing the bottled water with filtered water and totally recycling," she said.
Stoner said "my friends call me the 'clean-up lady' because no matter where I see trash I will pick it up. Because it does hurt to see people not taking care of the planet. It's our job to preserve and protect it."
Lovato and Perez de Tagle said they wanted to take part in this because if their fans see that they are passionate about the planet, it will inspire other young people to be passionate, too.
Kevin Jonas said it's important that "no matter who you are you need to get outside and try to make a difference."
