A group of dedicated island residents came together on Saturday, January 16th for a clean-up campaign that left the lagoon area by Boca del Rio with a lot less garbage. The participants which included tour guides, fishermen, political aspirants, environmentalists, and high school students, among others, collected a truckload of rubbish from the lagoon. According to organizers, while the clean-up was a success, the job is yet from finished and another has been scheduled for February 6, 2021.
The meeting point was the Boca del Rio beach park, from where the cleaning began. The participants were accompanied by the Belize Coast Guard as they started the cleaning raking the lagoon floor. According to Abner Bacab, one of the organizers, they collected plastics, metals, fishing lines, glass bottles, wood, boards and many other items thrown into the waters. “It was indeed a great day for our mangroves, marine resources, waterways, Caribbean Sea and environmental conservation of our community,” said Bacab. At the end of the activity, a dump truck provided by the San Pedro Town Council was filled with rubbish fished off the lagoon. Most of the garbage is suspected to be from the nearby households/residents living along the waterway.
Bacab said this is just the beginning, as more campaigns are expected to take place, with the second one set for February 6th. By 3PM, the teams arrived to the Sunset Boardwalk near the international boat terminal with a huge load of garbage. All participants were with materials such as gloves and garbage bags, including lunch.
Organizers thanked everyone who participated and appeal to tour operators, dive operators, more tour guides, fishermen, business community and the rest of the community to support the cleaning campaigns and be part of it. They also thanked ALL the sponsors/donors who contributed to the lagoon clean-up on Saturday.
Anyone interested in helping and participating in the upcoming campaigns can contact the organizers: Abner Bacab – 615 2998, and Roan Gonzalez- 636 6797. They can be reached via Facebook, or WhatsApp.
