Sixty children take part in Regatta Beach Clean-Up | THE DAILY HERALD

Participants in Saturday’s St. Maarten Regatta Beach Clean-Up at Kim Sha beach on Saturday.

 

SIMPSON BAY–Over sixty children participated in the St. Maarten Regatta Beach Clean-Up on Kim Sha beach on Saturday. This clean-up is organised annually by the St. Maarten Yacht Club Regatta Foundation to generate awareness amongst the local youth about pollution of beaches and oceans. The event combines the serious topic of environmental responsibility through a beach clean-up followed by fun sport activities.

  St. Maarten Nature Foundation kicked off the day with a short presentation about the impact garbage has on the environment and more specifically the ocean. The children became extremely motivated by the presentation and in groups collected as much garbage as they possible could within the allotted time.

  At the end of the Clean-Up, 838 pounds of garbage were collected by all participants. Prizes were handed out to those teams who collected the most garbage, which were team “2” in the age category six to 12 years with 64 pounds of collected garbage, and team “Lifesavers” in the age category 13-18 with over 200 pounds.

  The Beach Clean-Up was followed by several fun sport activities organised by LAB Sports. The children were divided into different groups and took turns playing games and completing an obstacle course trying to set the fastest time.

  Prizes were awarded to those who set the best time. “The Savages” took first place within age category 6-12 with two minutes and 42 seconds; Team 21 won the age category 13-18 in a time of three minutes and 55 seconds.

  Both the winners of the beach clean-up and the obstacle course took home several prizes donated by sponsors. After the prize-giving ceremony the children enjoyed pizzas.

  “It is amazing to see how motivated children are to contribute to the environment by participating in a beach clean-up. The St. Maarten Regatta Beach Clean-Up is an event that generates awareness and makes it fun for the kids to be a part of. Besides the fact that they help the island, the event is a way to make new friends. We are grateful for the support of the St. Maarten Nature Foundation, Meadowlands, Fiji Water, LAB Sports and Print & Sign for making this event possible. We are already looking forward to next year’s edition,” said organiser of the St. Maarten Regatta beach clean-up Anouk van Loon.

  The beach clean-up is part of the Regatta Art Competition. Judges will review all the artwork and select winners who will be awarded for their efforts on Sunday, February 2.

  This annual event is to make the local youth aware of the environmental challenges St. Maarten is facing through a fun beach clean-up and using their creativity with recycled materials in the Art Competition.

Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/84791-sixty-children-take-part-in-regatta-beach-clean-up

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