DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Living near the beach was this Georgia Peach's dream.

  • Marcia Harden takes a trek every day to clean up Daytona Beach
  • Area residents are thankful for her contributions

"When I first walked down the steps I said, 'Thank you God, this is my new front yard,'" recalled Marcia Harden.

Harden, a Floridian at heart, is now doing everything she can to take care of the Sunshine State's precious gems.

So, for seven days a week, she walks 14 miles and picks up trash that litters the beach. 

She has been spending more than an hour per day doing solo pickups since April, from underneath benches to the sand.

She fills the trashcan on a journey to save sea life.

"A heart plunge to see a bird pick up a cigarette butt in its beak and quickly shake it," she says.

Even the lifeguards have taken notice of Harden's hard work, she tells me they've counted and found that she's collected more the 1,000 cigarette butts a day.

"We say "thank you very much". We really appreciate it. We really love having you out there it helps us tremendously," said Capt. Tammy Malphurs, Volusia Beach Safety.

"Please help me clean the beach for my children and yours and all of the sea life," Harden says.

She hopes that everyone jumps on her new campaign "and get your butts off the beach," Harden declared.