BASSETERRE (4TH March, 2017) The Heart of St. Kitts Foundation continued their week of activities with a successful beach cleanup at Cockleshell Bay, stretching from the Spice Mill restaurant to Reggae Beach Bar and Grill.
More than 50 participants showed up during the early hours of Saturday morning to assist and show support to the Heart of St. Kitts Week.
Groups represented at the cleanup included: The Ministry of Tourism, St. Kitts Tourism Authority, Dr. William Connor Primary School, Dolphin Discovery, Parks and Beaches Unit, St. Kitts Sea Turtle Monitoring Network, Sustainable Development Council, Sky Academy, Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund and the Eco Friends.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Carlene Henry-Morton, said the beaches belong to all of us.
“I cannot stress how important it is to cleanup after ourselves,” Henry-Morton said. “I am pleading with the various vendors working on the beaches to keep their area clean. It is simply unacceptable for any business operating on the beach to throw away their garbage in the area.”
Henry-Morton pointed out that a lot of the garbage collected came from businesses, and included discarded furniture, building materials and cooking utensils.
“Whatever you bring to the beach, please take back with you. Encourage others not to litter, because this is more than just a place for our guests, but this is also about fiercely taking pride in what is ours and protecting it.”
Approximately 46 bags of trash were collected from the entire cleanup effort.
The Heart of St. Kitts Week raised awareness of the Heart of St. Kitts Foundation, and inspired visitors, locals and businesses to offer donations to assist with local projects that will make St. Kitts a better place to reside in and experience.
Organizers of the Heart of St. Kitts Week extended special thanks to Ballast Bay Outfitters for sponsoring the beach cleanup and for also providing raffle prizes to four participants.
The Heart of St. Kitts Foundation was established in 2016, and is a team effort between the Ministry of Tourism and tourism enterprises on island. The aim of the Foundation is to ensure that development on the island continue to preserve and benefit the environment, culture, heritage and likelihood of its residents.
Its goal is to build awareness around the importance of sustainability in St. Kitts and to provide funding for local projects that help to contribute in making the island a better and more sustainable place to live and experience.
