Durbanites tackle clean-up on Beachwood Mangrove Beach
Just under two tonnes of rubbish was collected in the clean-up on Saturday.
DURBANITES united this weekend in an effort to collect thousands of bags of litter from beaches along the coastline, including the Beachwood Mangroves Beach.
Several clean-ups across eThekwini, including Blue Lagoon and uMhlanga, showed the need for collective action to keep our beaches clean and our oceans free from litter.
The clean-ups were all part of International Coastal Clean-up (ICC) Day, which is celebrated annually on the third Saturday of the month every September.
The day is about empowering people to take an active role in the preservation and cleaning up of the oceans and our beaches.
At the Beachwood Mangroves Beach, the clean-up efforts were led by the North Durban Honorary Officers with help from several environmental organisations, including Adopt-a-River and the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA).
According to Basil Pather, conservation manager at Beachwood Mangroves Nature Reserve, just under two tonnes of rubbish was collected from a single clean-up on Saturday.
“To see so many young people come out and support the clean-up was a real positive. We had Scouts groups, schools and families lend a hand to clean up. Each of the volunteers who helped out were given data forms which helped us break down and understand the types of items we keep finding on our beaches. The data collections also show how things are changing in terms of litter found on our beaches and in our oceans.
“The North Durban Honorary Officers and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife have been involved in conservation for more than 20 years, and this particular beach with the mangroves reserve is incredibly important. It is home to the largest population of mangrove trees in Durban and is vital to flora and fauna. We are so grateful for the support from everyone who showed up and to the organisations who helped make the day a success. We also hope this serves as an eye opener for youngsters on the importance of conservation,” he said.
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