Roxborough Beach gets a refresh

Carl Gilchrist/Gleaner Writer

The St Ann Marine Association (SAMA), with support from several volunteer groups, observed International Coastal Clean-up Day on Saturday with a clean-up exercise at Roxborough Beach in St Ann’s Bay, St Ann.

Working under the theme ‘Sea the Change: Away is a Place’, volunteers from Jacana, the Key Clubs of Iona High School, and St Hilda’s Diocesan High School, Jamaica Inn and other organisations joined SAMA in the effort.

More than 30 bags of garbage were collected during the clean-up. The waste included plastic and glass bottles, lunch boxes, paper cups, plastic bags, condom wrappers, shoes and tyres.

“I think it was pretty successful, we got fewer volunteers than we expected to get but, overall, we collected garbage mainly from the gully and from the eastern side of the beach, and it was pretty successful,” Francesca Russell, SAMA assistant secretary, told The Gleaner.

The volunteers who participated were vocal about the need to protect and preserve the environment.

Alerie Hull-Duhaney, CEO of Jacana, said the Jacana Foundation was compelled to support the clean-up effort.

“We can’t call ourselves a wellness brand and ignore the health of our own ocean line; clean beaches are where wellness starts,” Hull-Duhaney said. “Everything we make comes from this land, so it’s only natural we say thank you and play our part in taking care of it.”

A team of 10 people represented Jamaica Inn, with company nurse and environmental health and safety officer Jhanelle Rose noting that the hotel participates in the activity annually.

“Every year is a new experience and this is our first time at Roxborough Beach and partnering with SAMA,” Rose noted. “It was good to be part of something beneficial to our environment. It is always worth it to give something back to the environment.”

Avid swimmer Sean Edwards of Contractor Tourism Marketing hailed the clean-up effort and underscored the importance of maintaining a clean and safe environment.

“I use the ocean a lot for swimming, it’s like my gym, for they say swimming is the number one exercise and, being involved in tourism, I really see the importance of a clean coastline to Jamaica,” Edwards said.

Edwards noted that much of the garbage collected likely came down the river, and urged residents to be more responsible in disposing of waste.

“We can’t wait on the government to do everything; we need to educate our population, especially the younger generation, of the importance of not dumping garbage in the gullies and in the rivers,” Edwards said.

Key Club members from Iona High School and St Hilda’s Diocesan High School also participated in the clean-up.

Tara-Jo Ferguson Vassell, a teacher at Iona, and St Hilda’s student Amoya Williams, lieutenant governor for Division 4, Key Club Jamaica, said the clubs at both schools have supported the coastal clean-up initiative over the years.

They emphasised the importance of keeping the environment clean and said Key Club members would continue to support the initiative.

carl.gilchrist@gleanerjm.com