Trash littering our beaches and choking our ecosystems is a threat to wildlife, our coastal economies, and ultimately to the ability of the ocean to sustain us.
For many years, Saba has participated in the International Coastal Cleanup, the largest yearly volunteer effort of it’s kind. The event was initiated 24 years ago by the Ocean Conservancy, and this year again hundreds of thousands of volunteers in over 100 countries were hitting their local beaches, lakes, rivers and waterways, spending a few hours removing trash and debris from coastlines, keeping track of every piece of trash they found. The data is being submitted to Ocean Conservancy, which uses that data to produce the world’s only annual country-by-country, sate-by-state index of the problem of marine debris. The report is shared with the public, industry, and government officials as we work together to find solutions to the problem of marine debris.
Armed with knowledge about the most prevalent components of marine debris, elected officials can make informed policy decisions, community leaders can tailor and expand recycling and other trash-reduction programs, corporate decision makers can improve technology and reduce packaging, and individuals can recycle, reuse, or properly dispose of trash to keep these items out of the ocean in the first place.
On September 26th 2009, organized by the Saba Conservation Foundation (SCF) in collaboration with the Island Government and the Burendag Committee, 4 sites were targeted: The Ladder, Spring Bay and Fort Bay for an underwater cleaning. Additionally, Burendag participants beautified Wells Bay with the placement of a picnic table, planted additional coconut trees, started a public BBQ area and upgraded playground equipment at the museum grounds.
In Fort Bay, 11 divers from Saba Divers, Saba Deep and Sea Saba, SCF and STENAPA staff/volunteers, collected approximately 20 bags of garbage from the harbor bottom and 4 onshore Harbor Office volunteers pulled up debris, including tires, boat engines and large wooden planks, which had been ripped from the harbor walls by boats and storms.
At The Ladder, 28 children and 9 adults cleaned the trail and took the garbage bags, which contained a vast amount of plastic bottles to the beach area, where Saba Sea Rescue took over the bags and transported them to Fort Bay. Approximately 10 bags of garbage were piled up, not including the 3 bicycle frames, various galvanized sheeting and other large objects.
The most notable effort took place at Spring Bay, where only 5 children and 4 adults, after an exhausting hike in the blazing sun, collected an amazing amount of 110 bags of garbage, consisting of about 1,500 plastic bottles, 300 left shoes, 3 right shoes and various large items.
The Island Government provided school busses for the transportation of the volunteers, garbage bags and additional garbage truck collections at the sites. Local businesses were also very supportive and sponsored refreshments and ice. The A. M. Edwards Medical Center donated gloves for all participants.
After the event, all participants were invited to Burendag at the Eugenius Johnson Community Center in Windwardside for food, fun and games.