On January 14, Vashon Island Rotary Club members gathered on a blue-sky morning, armed with goodwill, grabbers, gloves, buckets and gloves to clean up plastics around Quartermaster Harbor Drive, as part of the club’s recognition of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day weekend of service.

With the tide out, they poked through beach timber and debris to capture shredded bits of plastic and other materials that had either washed up or been discarded on the shores — an effort to eliminate not only an eyesore but also materials that are deeply harmful to birds and marine life.

The day was one example of the kind of community service Vashon Rotary has been known for since it began in 1986. Rotary’s programs include speakers on topics ranging from scientific research to current events to insights on government to education. Other recent Vashon Rotary initiatives include Music Mends Minds, a native planting project and building and stocking a “Free Little Library” of Spanish-language children’s books on Vashon.

To find out more about the Vashon chapter of Rotary, visit vashonrotaryclub.org.