Look at a picture of a beach in Mauritius in a brochure, and you may find it hard to imagine rubbish could ever spoilt the scenery.
Unfortunately, litter and waste does find its way into even the most pristine of resort destinations. That’s why BSAC Centre Captain Mimi organised an Earth Day clean-up campaign on Saturday 22nd April.
Based at Trou-aux-Biches on the northeastern end of the paradise island of Mauritius, the white sands near the dive centre cover a two-kilometre stretch of the beach and lagoon.
Inspired by Earth Day and with the participation of a local group called Women Of Wonders, the Captain Mimi team used Facebook to publicise their clean-up event and ask for help to remove rubbish from the beach and the lagoon.
Volunteers were split into two teams. The first included six youngsters who stayed on the local beach with skipper Jacky Alexandre and donned mask, snorkel and fins to search out the rubbish (including one who is currently doing their Sports Diver training with instructor Ari.)
Meanwhile, instructor John Alexandre took the second group out on the centre’s dive boat Spanish Dancer to collect waste in the lagoon.
In total about 60kg of rubbish was collected including a used bicycle wheel, glass, plastic bottles, and even a rusted hoe. The rubbish was bagged up for proper disposal and leaves the beach and lagoon in a much more pristine state.
Special guest, the honorable Minister of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change, Mr Kavydass Ramano, presented John with a certificate of appreciation for participating in the Earth Day event on behalf of the volunteers.
