This morning I joined the Programa de Educación Ambiental (Environmental Education) for
their second beach clean-up of the season. (Last time I did this, I came home
with Ocotillo, but despite encountering many dogs in need, I was not allowed to
bring any more home :( This was the largest effort I have participated in,
with 280 community members in attendance! The 3
ecological clubs from the primary (La
Pandilla Ecológica), secondary (Los
Delfines), and prep (Xapoo)
schools were the main participants, with the older students organizing the event.
The EE girls planned the clean-up to align
with the methodologies of The Ocean Conservancy. Their protocols measure what
types and quantity of trash encountered in order to gain a better understanding
of what resources are needed (like public bathrooms or waste baskets, for example) to address the area’s waste issues. Therefore, we
not only picked up trash, but we counted and sorted every little piece into its proper category! We divided up into smaller groups, each with a team leader, and picked up trash
along a set transect. My team from the primary school collected 117 plastic
water bottles alone in our small 100m section. Another team collected 204 cigarette
butts in their section. Most of the trash consisted of plastic bags, bottles,
and because we cleaned along the fishing area, lots of rope and fish net
related stuff. All participants received a t-shirt and box lunch!
 |
| My team! |
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