Volunteers hit Little Harbor Beach Saturday morning armed with trash bags, gloves and clipboards, kicking off the local efforts for Massachusetts’ annual, statewide beach cleanup known as Coastsweep.

Roughly 25 people arrived for the first of three cleanups scheduled in Wareham this fall. Other cleanups are scheduled for Sept. 23 at Onset and Shell Point Beaches and Sept. 30 at Swifts and Swifts Neck Beaches. Cleanups will be held from 10 a.m. to noon. Bags and gloves are provided.

Little Harbor’s cleanup began eight years ago through the efforts of Karin Osmond who started participated in Coastsweep, a state-run program administered by the Office of Coastal Zone Management. It is part of the larger International Coastal Cleanup organized by Ocean Conservancy in Washington, D.C. and has been held since 1987.

“Little Harbor is a beautiful, special place and we want to try and keep it that way through events such as this,” said Osmond.

Three years ago, Osmond and Don’t Trash Wareham, a grassroots group of volunteers dedicated to beautifying town, joined forces for the cleanups.

Don’t Trash Wareham volunteer Nora Bicki noted that for Coastsweep every piece of trash must be documented. That data is then recorded and used to analyze local and national trends in marine debris.

On Saturday, volunteers picked up trash in the parking lot, beach and dunes at Little Harbor. Jeff Araujo and his daughter Norah were among the volunteers and travelled from Tyngsborough, located on the New Hampshire border, for the cleanup.

Norah said she’s considering becoming a marine biologist. After learning about Saturday’s cleanup from a family member she said she was excited to come and help out.

“It’s great that she has this spark for marine life and for giving back,” said her father. “We want to encourage that and today is a perfect way to do that.”

For more information on Don’t Trash Wareham or to volunteer for an upcoming cleanup, email donttrashwareham@gmail.com.