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Grand Bahama To Participate In International Coastal Clean-Up

Grand Bahama

Grand Bahama Island and the Ocean Conservancy will be celebrating the 26th Annual International Coastal Clean-up on Saturday, September 15, 2012.

Grand Bahama residents will join hundreds of thousands of people around the world for Trash- Free Seas.

The 26th annual coast clean-up is the world’s largest volunteer effort to help protect our ocean, lakes and rivers.

Each year, hundreds of thousands of volunteers from around the world spend a few hours removing trash and debris from beaches, lakes, and rivers keeping track of every piece of trash they find. Ocean Conservancy uses that information to produce an annual snapshot of the problem of marine debris. Over the past 25 years, more than eight and a half million volunteers have removed 145 million pounds of trash from nearly 300,000 miles of coastline and waterways in 152 countries and locations.

The clean-up will begin at 8 a.m. at beaches from McLean’s Town, High Rock, Free Town shorelines; Gold Rock, Barbary, Fortune, Taino, Williams Town and Xanadu beaches; Lovers’ and Crystal beaches; Deadman’s Reef and west end shorelines.

Karen Seymour, director of Ministry of Tourism and Aviation, Grand Bahama, said: “We want to make Grand Bahama Island a cleaner, healthier place to live by taking part in a program that offers public recognition and financial incentives in exchange for implementing environmentally beneficial actions and improving the quality of life.”

Trash threatens ocean wildlife and ecosystems; and undermines tourism and economic activity. Over the last 25 years, Ocean Conservancy beach clean-up volunteers have collected enough cups, plates, forks, knives and spoons to host a picnic for two million people. The eight million pounds of trash collected during the 2010 clean-up would cover about 170 football fields. Grand Bahama’s, volunteers found 2,833 pounds of trash in 2010.

Vikki Spruill, president and CEO of Ocean Conservancy, said: “The problem of ocean trash is preventable, and keeping our ocean free from trash is one of the easiest ways we can make the ocean more resilient against other threats like climate change.

“Data collected by dedicated International Coastal Clean-up volunteers inform solutions to the threat of trash in our ocean. By understanding sources of marine debris, we can work together to solve this problem. And by working together to find solutions, we will take significant steps forward in understanding and preventing ocean trash. Join me and communities around the world this September 15 to keep our 25-year effort moving forward for Trash-Free Seas.”

The many nature based organizations like the Eco-tourism Association, Earth Care, Bahamas National Trust, Grand Bahama Clean Association, Keep Grand Bahama Island Beautiful Association, Department of Environmental Services and the Ministry of Tourism encourage all residents to keep Grand Bahama Island clean for us and our invited guests.

Anyone wanting to volunteer is asked to contact Pauline Wells or Renamae Symonette at the Ministry of Tourism’s local office.

Yasmin Popescu
The Freeport News

Posted in Lifestyle

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