Bahamian Kids Proudly Clean–Up Against Marine Debris
Why would hundreds of kids and educators voluntarily pick up other people’s trash?
Why help? Why not!?

In the face of overwhelming environmental problems, it is not uncommon to feel powerless to help. But citizen beach clean-ups demonstrate that we are not powerless in the fight to stop marine debris. Marine debris is caused by people and can only be stopped by people.
A beach littered with trash is a depressing sight. But a beach lined with volunteers armed with trash bags and eager to clean up is a positive, hopeful sight. We can all help when it comes to cleaner beaches. Beach clean-ups serve many important functions. The deaths of thousands of marine animals- including seabirds, whales, dolphins, sea turtles, and fish- can be prevented by removing plastics from beaches and the ocean. These animals often ingest or become entangled in plastics.

Beaches are places that Bahamians enjoy in the evenings, on weekends and holidays. Broken glass and trash make it dangerous to play at the beach! The privilege to play there means packing up the trash you brought. It’s even better if you pick up a couple extra pieces so that others would know you want a clean beach.
Finally, beaches are an important attraction for tourists. The long, beautiful clean beaches people see in the advertisements of the Bahamas should be what they see in reality! Keeping our beaches clean will mean that travelers will continue to make the Bahamas their destination of choice.

Project BEACH has designed the Conservation Kit to help you have more fun, educational activities with your kids after the event. We believe that our continued efforts to monitor the kinds and amounts of trash found on our beaches will help citizens and policy makers reach their final goal of a cleaner, safer, marine environment.