Nassau, Bahamas– A record number of volunteers from all walks of life throughout The Bahamas turned out to participate in the 25th Anniversary of International Coastal Cleanup. To date, this global initiative has helped remove over 100 million pounds of marine litter from over 170,000 miles of coasts since it began 25 years ago. In New Providence alone, more than 800 volunteers met at the South Beach pools area to clear the mangroves and surrounding coastline of an astounding 39 tons of trash.
International Coastal Cleanup is the world’s largest one-day volunteer event created to prevent and eliminate pollution of the marine environment. This year, volunteers in New Providence, Abaco, and Grand Bahama turned out to clean-up their respective beaches and wetlands. The event, which began as a local program in Texas, has gradually expanded to include every major body of water in the world in over 100 countries, including The Bahamas.
Coke and a Smile - L-R Walter Wells, President and CEO and Kirkland Munnings and Cherfelt Wells of the Caribbean Bottling Company at the International Coastal Cleanup. Coca-Cola is the global sponsor of ICC and the Caribbean bottling Company supported the local event by providing volunteers with free Cokes, Dasani water and other beverages produced by the company.
“This year was a record for The Bahamas in terms of the numbers of volunteers and the amount of debris we collected and we are still sorting through the results. So many volunteers from the local community, corporate and civic organizations, students and concerned neighbours came out in force to help rid our wetlands and beaches of vast amounts of trash,” said Ranaldo Smith, education supervisor at Dolphin Encounters which is the National Coordinator of International Coastal Cleanup in The Bahamas. “In New Providence, we cleaned the South Beach pools area which is home to mangrove systems and sadly has been the site for illegal dumping. We found everything out there from refrigerators, mattresses, car parts, construction materials and so much more. Volunteers also cleaned in Abaco and Grand Bahama. Each volunteer was determined to clean and together we made a huge impact. We also sent the message that we don’t want trash to destroy our environment. It took many people working as a unified team to make a realWe hope our efforts will be supported by all by putting trash in its place.” difference and we thank everyone who participated.
Getting It Done - Containers donated by Bahamas Waste and The Department of Environmental Health Services and large trucks donated by T and K Trash Removal, Dean’s Building supplies and John Taylor Trucking made it possible to remove 39 tons of trash from South Beach during International Coastal Cleanup organized by Dolphin Encounters.
In New Providence volunteers combed the mangroves and surrounding areas for five hours. Another group of approximately 50 volunteers, organized by Scotiabank Bahamas, took to the shallow waters snorkeling and cleaning any debris found caught in the mangrove roots and water.
The top ten debris items collected in South Beach included construction materials, picnic items (cups, plates, knives, spoons), beverage cans, food wrappers and containers, plastic and glass beverage bottles, caps, lids, paper and plastic bags, cigarettes, shotgun shells and clothing.
A wide array of volunteers turned out in force to participate in New Providence including Phenton Neymour, M.P. for the South Beach Constituency and Minister of State in The Ministry of the Environment and Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace the Minister of Tourism and Aviation.
Making a Difference - Volunteers help cleanup South Beach during the 25th Anniversary of International Coastal Cleanup. More than 800 volunteers came out to tackle trash and make a difference in the event that was organized by Dolphin Encounters in New Providence.
“The South Beach area and its ecosystems have been destroyed for over 50 years,” said the Honourable Phenton Neymour, M.P. for South Beach. “The area has been developed and we have lost some of the mangroves. It is important that we now preserve and protect the existing mangroves and minimize any negative effect on them for future generations. We need a continuation of an educational process, particularly with our children, to stress the importance of keeping the environment clean. Exercises such as this cleanup are important and I commend everyone involved.”
The Ministry of Tourism came out in large numbers to clean and participate in International Coastal Cleanup lead by Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace the Minister of Tourism and Aviation. “The Ministry of Tourism is part of the community and this is a community event,” said the Honourable Vanderpool-Wallace. “We at the Ministry of Tourism have long believed that what is good for the community is good for tourism. The irresponsible dumping here has gone on for far too long and we hope this effort begins to bring about a resolution. It is our job to restore this beautiful area back to its original state and to input controls that prevent this from ever happening again.”
Recording Data - Students take time to fill out data cards with each piece of trash picked up during the cleanup. All data is collected and sent to the Ocean Conservancy which tracks trash around the world.
Also participating in the clean up were volunteers from: Dolphin Encounters; the Indaba Project of the Grants Town Community Centre, Miss Earth Bahamas; Miss Teen Bahamas; National Coastal Awareness Committee; Rotary Nassau Sunrise Club, the Bahamas National Trust; Ministry of Tourism and Aviation; Roteract; Scotiabank Bahamas; Workers House Academy and The Royal Bahamas Police Cadets Corps. Local residents and many other volunteers from all over Nassau also participated in large numbers.
Students from many schools that participated in the GGYA program or their environmental clubs also took part including students from: Anatol Rodgers; Bahamas Bible College; Christian Heritage School; C.C. Sweeting; C.I. Gibson; College of the Bahamas; C.R. Walker; C.V. Bethel Senior High School; Columbus Primary; Boys Brigade; Faith Temple; Government High School; GHS Interact Club; Kingsway Academy; Lyford Cay International School; L.W. Young, Queens College, Mt. Carmel Preparatory Academy;Nassau Christian Academy; Oakes Field Primary; R.M. Bailey; Renaissance Academy; Royal Bahamas Defense Force Rangers; St. Anne’s High School; St. Andrews School; St. Augustine’s College; St. Barnabas; St John’s College; St. Thomas Moore; Tamberly School; The Village School; and Young Bahamian Marine Scientists.
