The event was part of the “Enjoy with Conscience” campaign, with the second installation of an environmental awareness sign by the entity.
Volunteer pointing out the belongings they are finding.
[January 2, 2023- Aguada, Puerto Rico]- The non-profit organization, Conservation Opportunity (CO) kicked off the new year 2023 with a major accomplishment by collecting more than 1,000 pounds of trash at its Sign Installation and Beach Cleanup at Punta Rio Grande beach in the municipality of Aguada, where more than 20 volunteers were in attendance, for a total of 40 participants, including employees of the municipality and people from the impacted community.
The event was part of CO's campaign for Giving Tuesday Puerto Rico 2021, “Enjoy with Conscience”A second interpretive panel was installed to promote the conservation of natural resources and to motivate the public to keep natural resources clean.
Some of the items collected, none of which were weighed because of their size.
The mayor of Aguada, Hon. Christian Cortés Feliciano, and 15 other municipal employees attended and brought about four trucks of heavy equipment, so that the process of transporting the collected material could be facilitated.
“We want a clean and litter-free Aguada. That is why we join this great effort by the organization Conservation Opportunity to keep our coasts clean, to protect wildlife, water quality and the beauty of our beaches,” said Aguada Mayor Christian E. Christian Cortés Feliciano.
Representatives of organizations such as 4H and the Fishermen's Association of Rio Grande and Espinar also participated in the activity, where they were able to collect pyrotechnics, vehicle tires, toys, household appliances such as refrigerators, stoves, cabinets and garbage in general.
Mayor of Aguada, CO team and community leaders.
“I want to thank the Mayor, the municipality, teacher and community leader, Jennifer Velez, Chapiro Promotions, and the community for joining us in the installation of our second environmental conservation sign,” said Fabiola Torres founder of CO.
“It fills us with great joy to begin the year impacting this beach and community that was in need. It is fundamental for us as an organization to continue carrying the message of conservation and cleanliness of the natural resources on our island,” said Torres.
Conservation Opportunity highlights that the importance of selecting this beach is due to the fact that it is often visited by sea turtles, an endangered species, and that they hope the efforts will contribute to the “restoration of the beach”.
The non-profit organization explains that trash affects wildlife, water quality, detracts from the beauty of the area, and is detrimental to our natural resources.
Currently, the other sign installed as part of the campaign is located at the El Yunque National Forest's Broken Bridge as of August 2022, and there are about seven signs remaining to be installed with no confirmed locations. Conservation Opportunity encourages the community to join in this project and suggest other locations for the installation of the other signs.
Mayor of Aguada, CO team and community leaders.