May 9, 2004 – Mandahl Beach has long been known for its fishing, surfing, camping and its beautiful view of Hans Lolik. But in more recent years, it has also been known for its garbage. Recently, a group of locals has begun to reclaim their beach from the grip of stripped cars, broken bottles, and discarded galvanized steel.
"We try to do a little after work," said Leslie Quetel. On Wednesday night, that meant 20 people cleaning until 10 o'clock at night. By mid-afternoon on Thursday, more than a dozen people had gathered again, Mandahl and Mafolie residents with their children fresh from school.
The west end of Mandahl beach is commonly used at night to strip stolen cars. Last week, the informal group pulled seven stripped vehicles out of the bush and deposited them on the roadside. "Now [the government] can come get them with a wrecker," said Matthew Bryan. Now that the area is cleared, "They could have police come and see what’s happening," he said, hoping a renewed police presence on the beach may discourage this particular misuse of the area.
"We need to get the big debris out first," he explained, surveying a pile that includes a large metal gate, ply wood, galvanized roofing, fishing nets, and car parts. But big debris is not the only problem. Despite the presence of trash barrels, the ground is littered with broken bottles. "People have no respect for the beach," his wife Robin Bryan commented. "They would rather just drop trash on the ground."
The clean-up push on the west side of the beach began out of shock after the Bryans along with Quetel and husband, Andy, chose to camp at Mandahl over the Carnival holidays. "We were looking and just said 'Gosh!' Even if we have to pay out of pocket, we have to clean this." Everyone on the beach is quick to express disappointment that this sort of work is not getting done by the government.
Everyone expects several more weeks of work. "Even then, it will have broken glass buried in the sand," remarked Matthew Bryan. "Hopefully, we can get the government to truck in some clean sand to lay on top."
Area residents are encouraged to come down and lend a hand. "We can't work everyday, but we try to get down most afternoons." Looking at the east side of the beach, which was cleaned in previous weeks, it is easy to see what keeps the volunteers going – the chance to have a nice place to cast a line, sit and sun, and take a swim – again.
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