Volunteers spruce up Anna Maria Island

ANNA MARIA ISLAND, Fla. - More than 200 volunteers were on Coquina Beach Saturday to take part in the "Love it like a Local' Beach cleanup put on by 'Keep Manatee Beautiful' and the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"Love it like a local was something started by the tourism office to really encourage visitors to be responsible while they're here," said Kolby Gayson, marketing director for Bradenton Area Convention and Visitor's Bureau. 

A majority of the volunteers were locals - buts some - like the Adkins family - chose to make it a family affair while on vacation.

"We're actually staying here for a month to determine if we want to move and live here full time, so we love to come back and help out the place we love to visit," Adkins said. 

More than 200 volunteers cleaned up Coquina Beach on Saturday. 

After a safety briefing - crews got to work, cleaning the entire island from top to bottom for three hours before a picnic after party. 

Hurricane Ian spared the popular beach destination damage besides fallen trees and natural debris that was cleaned up by the county. 

READ: Injured alligator rescued on Anna Maria Island was euthanized

"Within a couple of days of the storm - everything looked absolutely back to normal," Jennifer Hoffman, executive director of 'Keep Manatee Beautiful' added. "What happens though is the little things fall through the cracks and so that's what our volunteers are the best at." 

'Love it like a 'Local is a slogan that the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitor's Bureau coined to encourage people to clean up the beaches. 

They picked up everything from plastic bags to cigarette butts and even some natural debris along the shoreline.

Volunteers logged their findings -allowing the county and 'Keep Manatee Beautiful' to collect data on just how much trash consumes the coast.