The Nature Conservancy and many partners ask the public to help contribute to trash-free seas, the theme for this year’s Coastweeks efforts. Organizations will focus cleanup efforts on the St. Thomas East End Reserves – specifically Benner Bay, Compass Point, Red Hook and Vessup. Every piece of litter from Tutu down through Turpentine Run Ghut ends up in the St. Thomas East End Reserves. We need to join together and stand up against littering to protect of our coasts.
Meet at Ivanna Eudora Kean at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 3 for the cleanup. Wear cleanup appropriate clothes and shoes. Join the group in the afternoon following the cleanup for a fun community gathering with refreshments and events at Vessup beach.
Coastweeks began 27 years ago when the Ocean Conservancy saw the need to bring attention to the world’s coasts. Volunteers document what they pick up to help pinpoint sources of litter and develop solutions during cleanups worldwide that occur every September and October. Last year 795 Virgin Islanders picked up 7,429 pounds of trash from 571 miles of shoreline during the 2011 Coastweeks.
The St. Thomas East End Reserves (STEER) is the most recent addition to the U.S.V.I. system of marine protected areas. It covers 9.6 km2 and is located in the southeast waters of St. Thomas. STEER has been established by the USVI government to protect coastal and marine resources including mangrove forests, seagrass beds, coral reef communities, fisheries and a salt pond. The Reserves contain several off-shore cays/islands and the largest remaining mangrove forest in the U.S.V.I.
Partners in this cleanup include the Ivanna Eudroa Kean JROTC, Environmental Association of St. Thomas-St. John (EAST), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), VI Ecotours, Virgin Islands Network of Environmental Educators (VINE), Virgin Islands Conservation Society (VICS), Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority (VIWMA) and Ocean Conservancy.
