Clean up with the British High Commission to celebrate Commonwealth Week

For our March clean up, and to celebrate Commonwealth Week, we teamed up with the British High Commission (BHC) to clean up Anse Royale beach.

40+ volunteers made it down bright and early on Saturday morning to help -  including the British High Commission, Ms. Caron Rohsler, staff members from the BHC, the students and teachers of the Anse Royale Secondary Eco-Schools, members of the Grand Police Citizens' Initiative, and other members of the community. 

Together, during our 1 hour of cleaning up, we collected approximately 70 plastic bottles, 50 plastic straws, 100 plastic cutlery, 35kg of other hard and soft plastics (including plastic containers such as takeaway boxes and dessert cups, plastic bags, plastic film, and plastic bottle caps), 224 glass bottles, 4.8kg of clothing, 12.5kg of fishing nets, and 3.5kg of wipes and diapers. A bus seat, three tyres and a handful of razor blades also made it into the collection pile! 

Thank you to the BHC and to all the volunteers that made it down to learn a bit more about plastics and to take action! 

Here’s what they had to say - 

 

"There is so much to admire in the design of The Ocean Project Seychelles. It is more than just picking up litter. [They sort] the litter and [collect]… data to help inform future policy; [they give] the community a sense of ownership that leads to them protecting their environment; [they make] people think about reducing what they consume and [make] different decisions about purchases - switching from plastics; [they teach] skills and [the importance of] taking responsibility; [they teach] youngsters not to litter, [and they] hopefully, [make] passive bystanders think."

- British High Commissioner, Ms. Caron Rohsler

 

“Tourists come to the Seychelles and typically think “sun, sea and sand”. To get involved in The Ocean Project Seychelles’ beach clean-up was our way of showing just how much we value the country’s beauty, as well as the people of the Seychelles. When we heard that young people would be contributing to the cause, it made perfect sense for us to roll up our sleeves and show that this initiative is an excellent way for everyone, including tourists, to take extra pride and appreciation of what the Seychelles has to offer.”

- Gulshan and Harpreet Mahay, United Kingdom