Eco warriors determined to keep Blue Lagoon Beach clean
Adopt-a-River has been running the clean-up for about three years now, and the community and Oceans Alive and Ad Reach Masakhe Media helped out.
WITH the festive season fast approaching, environmental groups had their hands full on Saturday at the #CleanblueLagoon clean-up.
Janet Simpkins of Adopt-a-River said people need to do something about the amount of waste washing up on our beaches.
“We have to change something because this amount of waste entering our oceans, this mess in our eco-system is not good for our environment, our health, for our animals and tourists. We would really encourage people to help us if they have the time to come – every little bit helps.
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“What we also really need to do is start changing people’s behaviours – what they’re buying and what packaging options are available because that is where the power is going to come in – it’s when we, as consumers, make different choices. This includes using re-usable cups, no straws, no polystyrene, etc,” said Janet.
Janet said the clean-up works well because it is held on days when Beachwood Mangroves has its open days.
“It really works well because it’s a community day – we get to interact with the community, and people get to see what is washing up on the beach. For them, it’s an eye-opener because they get to see what packaging is the worst, and they can take that home and change what they’re buying.
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“We’ve been doing this for about three years now. The Mangroves Rangers have an open day every third Saturday of the month, and that’s typically when we meet here for the Clean Blue Lagoon initiative,” she said.
Multiple environmental groups were part of the initiative, namely, Adopt-a-river, Oceans Alive and Ad Reach Masakhe Media. Janet said the clean-up is run under Adopt-a-River.
“It’s run under Adopt-a-River, and under Adopt-a-River, we have a number of sponsored teams. We’re involved here because of the Ad Reach Masakhe Media Team – they have been permanently based here at the river-mouth for three and a half years. They’re cleaning throughout the week and dealing with a whole lot of river issues, and once a month, we come together with the community and other teams, just to be part of the community and offer awareness,” she said.
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