BEACH CLEANUPS
#lestsdoit
The earliest clean-up we can remember was around 1999 when operators and locals gathered with rakes, spades and vehicles to remove black, tar like oil that had deposited itself along the beach.
With the addition of the Lifeguard station during the early 2000's the beach was kept clean and thanks to the support of Mary from KZN Wildlife we were introduced to International Coastal clean-up events that took place annually in September.
Since 2009 we have been recording items found as well as kilograms weighed in and the number of helping hands!
We have co-ordinated 52 beach clean-ups in collaboration with Ocean Conservancy, the Reserve, operators and various volunteers together with PlasticsSA who have in the past been the main sponsor of bags.
The events included both local and Dobela Down clean-ups which found vehicles leaving in convoy to tackle the plastic problem further up the coastline.
52
clean-ups
17728.6
kilograms
2327
bags collected
2021 ICC Beach Clean-Up
Reserva Marinha Parcial da Ponta do Ouro, Mozambique, 18 September 2021 - International coastal clean-up started as the sun was coming up with registration from 6am, by 7:15 the convoy of 8 vehicles left along the beach heading north.
2021 marks 12 years of recorded coastal cleanups in the reserve. The annual event in partnership with Ocean Conservancy, Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve and the Peace Parks Foundation was supported by 75 helping hands, of which 65 hit the beach and 10 worked behind the scenes.
Overall 75 people participated in the clean-up with community members from Lwandi Surf and DP World Maputo which was co-ordinated by Dolphin Encountours Research Center and the Keep Ponta Clean initiative.
Volunteers collected 1216kg of debris off the beach that filled 114 bags as well as a dead dolphin!
This years ICC was sponsored by DP World Maputo together with Compal, Suzuki Marine, Florestinha, Love Cafe, Ponta Kukula and Kaya Kweru Beach Chalets and vehicle support was offered by Vista Alta, Gala Gala Eco Lodge, Toze and Gozo Azul.
A special shout out goes to everyone who participated in this yeas ICC, it was a great success and would not have been possible without your helping hands and open hearts!
A DRIVE TO KEEP OUR VILLAGE & BEACHES CLEAN
With the influx of beach goers after the opening of the road linking Maputo to Ponta do Ouro, a clean-up initiative was founded by Suzie Steyn who took on the responsibility to raise funds from local operators and home owners for the construction of wooden rubbish bins that were strategically placed throughout the village and the beach as well as getting together a clean-up crew..
Four years later the project is still running successfully - keeping the village and beach litter free!
For more information on how you can get involved in the drive to Keep Ponta Clean please contact:
Suzie: +258 84 619 5104 or Bonny: +258 84 885 5273
