AS PART of a goal to keep the TCI clean, the Provo Ocean Warriors held their annual beach clean-up over the weekend.
Organiser of the clean-up and member of the club Jennifer Martel explained that she has been conducting initiatives such as this since last November.
She explained that she tries to do them on a monthly basis, targeting some of the most severely affected beaches, in an attempt to preserve the beauty of the Islands as much as possible.
The target area for this clean-up was The Bight beach in Providenciales.
Martel added that this was the third time that she and her team had visited the beach in this area over the course of six months and that they were disappointed at the amount of trash they have discovered each time.
“…the amount of trash even after that short amount of time is astronomical each time. We collect bags and bags every time.
“It is such a delicate environment and we are so close to Coral Gardens and all these other reefs and as soon as the trash goes into the water it does not go away, it stays there and it is damaging our ecosystems… that is what brings people to the TCI, our beautiful waters.”
She expressed that she is willing to come out every few months to maintain the clean environment because no one wants to see dirty beaches and litter in the ocean, especially not tourists who are sold on the ‘Beautiful by Nature and Clean by Choice’ brand.
Martel explained that this is why she started the clean-up campaign and has been doing it ever since, however, residents have to play a collaborative role in this process.
“The most important thing is actually throwing the garbage away. A lot of it is from events such as Fish Fry…here is where we find the most garbage.
“If you are at the beach, take a couple of pieces of garbage that you see, do not just walk past it because it will end up in the water in the beach.”
Mike Bozzer, sales and marketing representative of Turks Head Brewery who is also a sponsor of the initiative, said that he was happy to be involved in something as positive as this clean-up.
“It is a great event to sponsor. We have a lot of people coming out every month and it just feels great to do our part for the community,” he said.
