Marielis Dieppa and Fabiola Torres picking up garbage
From 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. last Sunday, the non-profit organizations Para la Naturaleza (PLN) and Conservation Opportunity (CO) collaborated to participate in the trash pick-up called by Benito “Bad Bunny” Martinez Ocasio during his concert on Thursday, July 28th. It carried the slogan “Un verano sin basura”, which humorously follows the name of the latest music album “Un verano sin tí”. CO and PLN focused their efforts on the Reserva Natural de las Cabezas de San Juan (RNCSJ), located in Fajardo.
Not counting the staff members of both entities, some 33 volunteers showed up and together they were able to collect a total of 286 pounds of trash. The waste collected the most was metal bottle caps (220), pieces of foam (211), cigarette butts (189), cans (116) and plastic lids (107). These were separated into recyclables and disposable waste.
During the event, some of the people enjoying their day at the beach decided to take action by picking up their personal spaces after identifying the clean-up crews, while others expressed their appreciation to the participants for taking the initiative to sanitize the local shores.
CO's founder, Fabiola Torres, congratulated all the staff members and volunteers who took time out of their days to be part of this special event.
The Para La Naturaleza team carrying the list of collected garbage
“Since Conservation Opportunity's inception, it has always been a dream to connect with entities around the island and work as a collective on environmental initiatives. For us it is an honor to work in the coordination of this cleanup together with PLN, as we both share similar goals with the protection and conservation of our natural resources,” stated Torres.
On the other hand, a PLN environmental interpreter, Chris Morales García, stressed the importance of maintaining coastal landscapes, such as the RNCSJ, because of their great impact on the marine ecosystems of the northeastern area.
“Places such as the RNCJ, the Northeast Ecological Corridor and the Medio Mundo and Daguao Natural Protected Area, among other adjacent areas, are critical areas for wildlife. A great diversity of organisms inhabit and take refuge in these ecosystems. Keeping these areas free of waste is essential. Simple actions such as picking up waste and depositing it properly in available containers or in our homes contribute to the protection of our natural heritage and therefore the biotic communities that depend on it”, reiterated Morales García.
Yamilet Aponte with Marieliz Dieppa and the Para La Naturaleza team welcoming volunteers.
In addition to this cleanup that took place in Fajardo, other entities, such as Amigxs del MAR, 7 Quillas Tortugueros San Juan and Tortuga Club PR, made trips to the beaches of Vacía Talega, Buyé and Guayama where a total of 800lbs, 1428lbs and 3,000lbs were collected, respectively.
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