My family loves spending time at the beach—the sun, the sand, the crash of the ocean waves. But what I treasure most are those moments when we get to witness all the creatures that dwell along the shoreline. My kids love searching for tracks left by nesting sea turtles, watching a dolphin leap from the waves, following a crab scurrying over the beach, and finding starfish lurking in tide pools.

Getting those little glimpses of nature reminds me how we are all connected to the ocean. A piece of litter near my home in Washington, DC, could make its way into the Potomac River, out into the Chesapeake Bay and into our ocean—which means that our actions are connected, too. Simply picking up that piece of litter can make a difference for a turtle swimming hundreds of miles away.

This week we’ve launched a new version of our Clean Swell® app which makes it easier to see how your small actions can make a big impact on our ocean. Use the app to record the trash you clean up in your neighborhood, beach or park. The data you collect will help scientists and advocates around the world create lasting solutions to tackle ocean trash on a global scale.

This new update of the app makes it easier for anyone to see their impact anytime, anywhere. With Clean Swell, you can easily see how your efforts, combined with those of thousands of volunteers around the world, have resulted in the removal of millions of pounds of trash from our beaches and streets. We’ve even added an action center full of articles and advocacy opportunities that will help you become a champion for the ocean right from your phone.

With Clean Swell you can power solutions for a healthier ocean with just a little bit of free time. Take your kids out to help pick up trash on a Sunday walk through the park. Ask your friends to help with a little neighborhood tidying-up before brunch. We want to hear how you are using the app to clean up the places you love! Share your stories with #CleanSwell on social media.

Each time I log in to Clean Swell I am reminded of the power of the International Coastal Cleanup® and the people who work to ensure we leave behind a cleaner ocean for our kids and generations to come. Each piece of trash, whether it is a bottle found on a beach or a straw found on a sidewalk, adds up. Volunteers like you remove a huge amount of trash that never gets a chance to enter our ocean, harm wildlife or break down into microplastics that are nearly impossible to remove from our environment. With this new and improved app, we are making it even easier for you to continue your monumental work to help us make the world’s largest volunteer effort to clean our waterways even better.

Dive in and download Clean Swell via the App Store or Google Play. After you clean up make sure to share on social media how you are using the app to make an impact with #CleanSwell.