NHCS President Urges Nevisians to Join Beach Clean Up Campaign

By:Curtis Morton

Charlestown-Nevis- Miss Nichole Liburd who is now the Executive Director of the Nevis Historical and Conservation Society (NHCS), is appealing to all citizens and residents on the island of Nevis to assist in the annual beach cleanup campaign which is slated for Saturday 24th September.

She noted that she was always interested in product and development and coincidentally, the NHCS focuses on conservation and preservation and she sees it as an extension of what Government and other environmentally conscious individuals do to protect and preserve the environment.

She indicated that the international beach cleanup has been in effect for 31 years, coordinated by OCEAN CONSERVANCY.

However, Nevis has been on board with the campaign for the last 24 years, mainly through efforts coordinated by the NHCS.

‘It is a huge voluntary exercise which normally attracts quite a number of groups and individuals across the island,’ she said.

The various groups and individuals are assigned certain specific areas, whether on various beaches or further inland, that have historically attracted quite a bit of Refuse build up.

The one day campaign generally commences at 7am and goes to about midday.  She referred to it as ‘a one day major effort.’

Apart from collecting the waste material, the team leader in each group will record each item collected and the types and the weight of the stuff collected would be duly recorded.

In 2015 the waste material collected weighed a whopping 3,300 tons. She noted that the coordinators of the activity would have been pleased to retrieve the waste material, as they would have prevented such from getting into the seas and waterways which would have caused severe contamination.

She was however quick to point out that there has been some improvement over the years. There are certain areas where the amounts have grown less overtime.

Miss Liburd is hoping that one day her organization will realize one of its stated goals which is to see school children clean up their environment on a regular basis.

Interested groups and individuals can still register at the NHCS-contact number: 469-5786. Such persons will be given garbage bags; gloves and recording material, in order to accomplish their job.

Areas to be covered normally include but are not limited to: White Bay and the general Indian castle area; Coconut Walk-New River; Long Haul bay; Herbert’s Beach; Oualie Beach; Airport beach; Newcastle beach; Tamarind Bay; Paradise beach; Pinneys Beach; Port road; Bath stream; Ghaut next to Powell’s garage; Waterfront in Charlestown.

Miss Liburd further indicated that the volunteers will congregate at the Coconut Grove Restaurant, sometime after midday, where they will be treated to a sumptuous lunch, which will serve as a fitting climax to a hard day’s work.

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