Saturday, September 17 marks International Coastal Clean-up Day and the Department of Environment and Coastal Resources (DECR) is looking to continue its tradition of getting the whole country involved in cleaning up the coastlines of the Turks and Caicos Islands. This year, in an effort to encourage even more people to go out into their communities and help with the clean-up efforts, the DECR has teamed up with the Triple Double Basketball Program (TDBP), a youth development program of the Providenciales Amateur Basketball Association (PABA), to get the kids to take part in keeping their country clean.
“In 2015, 356 individuals collected over 270 bags of trash nation-wide. This year the DECR hopes to not only gain increased support for the clean-up campaign, but to also help raise support for the Triple Double Basketball Program, as we work together toward the common goal of cleaning and strengthening our community”, said Amy Avenant, Environmental Outreach Coordinator of the DECR.
The main goal of this initiative is to encourage people to go out into their communities, across the TCI, and remove litter found along the shoreline, underwater, or in bushes in order to help create healthy waters for everyone, including the wildlife that calls these coasts home.
Speaking on the involvement of the TDBP, Dwyane Krzanowski, Co-director of the Triple Double Basketball Program said, “We’re very excited to be partnering with the DECR for this initiative. We try to teach the kids in our program about respect and appreciation and by involving them with this clean-up, they can really apply those values as they take care of their own home and country”.
You, your school, your business, and/or your organization can get involved by getting a group together and spending an hour out of your day cleaning up a beach, bushy area, path, road, or sea-bed in your local area.
You can also pledge a donation to the Triple Double Basketball Program to help motivate the kids to clean-up as much as possible. By pledging as little as $1 per bag of trash that they collect, you help to motivate them to do as much as they can while helping them to feel the sense of accomplishment that comes with working to raise funds for the program that works so hard to help them.
Show you care for the TCI’s natural environment by getting involved in International Coastal Clean-up Day! With your help, the DECR will fight for trash-free seas, on Saturday, September 17. It doesn’t matter where you are, just grab a bag and collect that litter!
HOW TO GET INVOLVED:
Coordinate an underwater / beach / bush clean-up in your immediate area.
WHEN:
Early morning, Saturday, September 17, 2016 (to beat the heat!)
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
- Gloves
- Water (make sure everyone remains properly hydrated – DEMA would like to encourage the use of re-usable water bottles)
- Trash Bags
- You may want to keep a first aid kit handy in the event of cuts or scrapes
WHAT TO DO NOW:
Register your commitment in taking part with Amy Avenant - DECR Environmental Outreach Co-ordinator, by no later than 15 September 2015. You can do so by emailing
Get in touch with the Triple Double Basketball Program at
If you do not have a group but wish to participate, please contact Amy to find out about groups you may join!
WHAT TO DO ON THE DAY (and a few days before):
- Arrange for proper disposal of the collected trash
- Submit the following information to DECR:
- Organisation name
- Number of clean-up participants
- Location of trash collection (and whether it was underwater/beach/bush)
- Number of bags collected
- Amount of time spent collecting trash
- Photographs of you / your organisation and the trash collected.
DECR has registered this event with the Ocean Conservancy - Ocean Conservancy works to keep the ocean healthy, to keep us healthy.
http://www.oceanconservancy.org/
Please help DECR and the Triple Double Basketball Program fight for trash-free seas! Together we can all make a difference!