Ecotourism

39,000 Volunteers Clean Ecuador Beaches, Rivers, and Ocean Floors

“Think globally, act locally.”
— Origins of the phrase are disputed according to Wikipedia

 

Ecuador Environmental Protection

In 2008, Ecuador became the first country in the world to provide constitutional protection for the environment. This does not mean that garbage is always deposited in a receptacle nor that all packaging is biodegradable. What it does mean, among many other things, is that students learn about the negative impact plastic in oceans and rivers have on the planet.

#AcciónPorElPlaneta
Rings on beverage cans can kill marine life.
From Manabi Province Environment Ministry Tweet

Since 2010, Ecuador’s Environment Ministry has been leading a September cleanup as part of International Beach Cleaning Day, promoted by the International Ocean Conservancy Organization. Volunteers take action when others leave garbage behind. It is often easier to begin taking action when you are surrounded by friends doing the same. The Environment Ministry hosted Accion por el Planeta beach cleanup day on September 30, 2017. (Note the September 16 international day this year was during Ecuador school holidays. Ecuador waited until school resumed before hosting their day.)

Act Locally

At the Puerto Lopez meeting point, volunteers congregated, obtained motivational words on why we were here, obtained supplies, then dispersed and began cleaning the beach.

Volunteers cleaning Puerto Lopez beach
Volunteers, primarily high school students, cleaning Puerto Lopez beach
September 30, 2017

 

Each five member team had a bag, gloves, paper and pen. Together they filled the bag and documented what they collected. These stats will go into national and international databases and become important data points when discussing what is heading into or washing up from the ocean.

Once teams filled the bags, they finished their paperwork.

Beach cleaning volunteers
Teams assisting each other with paperwork

As bags filled up, they were easier to manage with two people carrying them.

Teammates cleaning Puerto Lopez beach
Lightening the load with a teammate

Once the beach was clean, everyone hung around for a snack, a drink, and some pictures. The girls below asked for a shot with my friend Kelley and I but I neglected to ask how we would get a copy to them. Hope they read my blog…

Accion por el planeta on Puerto Lopez beach
Fun photo frame in Puerto Lopez

Kelley spearheads the Sunday doMinga beach cleanups I wrote about here. Perhaps some of the volunteers from the national cleanup will join the weekly efforts.

I was impressed that police, military, national park employees, vacationers and locals all joined the students in this volunteer effort.

Elsewhere in Ecuador, Galapagos Ocean Floors Included

On the Galapagos Islands, there were 50 meetup locations for volunteers on five islands. Some of them cleaned the ocean floor – check out the tweet below.

Parque Galápagos tweet - cleaning ocean floor
They dove to clean the Galapagos at the pier, Etica Bay, and Franklin Bay.

 

Final Statistics

The Environment Ministry published nationwide statistics from the September 30 Accion por el Planeta beach cleanup.

  • About 39,000 volunteers
  • 317 cleanup sites
  • More than 834 kilometers cleaned
    • Beaches
    • Rivers
    • Lakes
    • Lagoons
    • Ocean floors
  • 182,389.77 kilograms of solid waste

 

Puerto Lopez beach cleanup
Results from Puerto Lopez
Accion por el Planeta

 

Think Globally

Want to schedule or participate in a cleanup near you? Check the Ocean Conservancy beach cleanup locations here.

 

Click here to read more about Puerto Lopez.

I am a US Expat in Ecuador. I grew up on a Minnesota farm, worked in IT in California's Silicon Valley, then moved to a coastal Ecuador fishing village. My goal is to share Ecuador with you, one snippet at a time. Topics include attractions, compassion, ecotourism, Ecuador products, everyday Ecuador, and flora and fauna. Please let me know what you would like to read more about!

4 Comments

  • Kelley B

    Nice report Emily! Let's hope we can get a few more kids to participate on Sundays. The beach soccer leaque season starts in January and we should definitely link them into our efforts.
    Love the blog! Adelante juntos.

    • Emily Bloomquist

      Yes, hopefully some of those who were with us on Saturday will join us – that would be fantastic! Thanks for all of your efforts to keep the Puerto Lopez beach clean and educate people on environmentally alternatives to plastics, Kelley. Thanks for you kind comments, too. Adelante juntos.

  • Hilary Melton-Butcher

    Hi Emily – what an excellent idea … 39,000 – that's a brilliant number of people helping out – sadly so much needs to be done- we are not helping our oceans or our wildlife – Ecuador is really setting the lead here … cheers Hilary

    • Emily Bloomquist

      I agree Hilary – a brilliant number! If only a small percentage of that number continue doing the same once per month or week, imagine what a difference we can make. Little by little is how lasting change usually happens and this is a step in the right direction. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

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