The beaches in Dangriga are cleaner today thanks to teams of students from the Stann Creek Ecumenical High School and Delille Academy.
As part of Oceana in Belize’s Reef Week activities, Ecumenical and Delille agreed to engage in a competition to see who could remove the most refuse from the waterways of Culture Capital, Dangriga. Fifty students from each school, supervised by staff members and monitored by Oceana Staff and Volunteers, engaged in the clean-up competition from shortly after 9:00 am until mid-afternoon. At the end of the competition, Ecumenical, which cleaned up the North side of Dangriga, had collected 108 (33 gallon) bags. Delille dealt with the South side but collected only 73 bags.
For their champion effort, Oceana in Belize will treat the winning 
team to a day field trip and snorkel at one of Belize’s southern cayes. The competition is but part of the rivalry between Ecumenical and Delille. They will face off in a jingle challenge as well as an essay competition of the theme: The Important of the Belize Barrier Reef.
Oceana thanks the administrations of Ecumenical and Delille for participating in today’s activities, and those yet to come. Here is how Oceana VP Audrey Matura-Shepherd sums it up, “We are tremendously encouraged that Dangriga youth took part in today’s competition not just because they realize that what happens onshore impacts our precious marine patrimony, but also that they saw an opportunity to help the Dangriga Town Board and residents of the municipality even as they demonstrated civic pride. They did themselves, their families and their schools proud! That is heartening.”
