Beach Clean Arguineguin 2016 took place on the 12th June 2016 and was a roaring success.
Surf Canaries Surf Club provided the organization and most of the volunteers were young surfers and ecologists from the area.
The day was enjoyed by all with plenty of plastic collected by 13:00 followed by a group dip in the cristal clear waters (no waves for us this year, but it didn’t matter, kids and boards all went in for an extended dip!)
Then the traditional pork chop and chorizo BBQ provided kindly by Bar Gran Canaria Chano y Delia. All our printing was done by Real Graphic designs in Puerto Rico, and all the drinks provided by restaurant “Las Brasas” in C.C. Puerto Rico.
The beach, although pretty clean, threw up some surprises… a laptop case (now housing a small city of shellfish) and a 30 meter tow- rope (about the girth of some of our smaller members of the team!).
As always, our drive was more towards a change in attitude to the use/disposal of plastic, rather than the physical act of actually cleaning the beach. Plastic disposal, recycling are important but more-so is the need for us to reduce our consumption of plastic, especially when it is not necessary (eg single use plastic bags, one use bottles of water etc..)
Whilst it could be said that we are preaching to the converted (those that volunteered are the first to reduce their plastic consumption/step up their recycling) we are hoping that the waves we create on the site and on social media will help us add our gram of sand to a world-wide campaign. We are very proud to be associated with the Surfrider Foundation Europe, Oceans Initiative and the Clean Ocean Project , these guys are doing a great job at changing awareness when it comes to the environment, especially with regards to the ocean.
Many thanks to Jose Carlos, Consejal de Playas (the politician in charge of beaches and coastline) for his unwavering support for this event and to the Ayuntamientos de San Bartomome de Tirajana and Mogan for their help at the event and for maintaining the beaches clean during the rest of the year!
Special Thanks to Kasperi Turkia Photography for documenting our day!
Resources for further investigation on Instagram/Twitter:
@surfridereurope @cleanoceanproject @Surfersagainstsewage @2minutebeachclean @surfcanaries