Cleaning up the picnic and ocean brought people together from all walks of life.
Western Cape, South Africa (10 April 2022) – On Saturday, over 100 people rallied together to clean up the famous picnic spot and tidal pool at Millers Point in Cape Town.
Millers Point is a place for families and communities to come together. Where there are people, there is often a lot of trash. As a famous dive spot, it is therefore important to keep the area clean before the next strong South Easter blows plastic into the water. Hout Bay-based organisation Sentinel Ocean Alliance organised the beach cleanup with the help of Oceano Reddentes and their partners, the UCT Underwater Club, Trail Freediver, and Impact Divers.
Cleaning up the ocean brought people together from all walks of life. It so happened that the organisers were pleasantly surprised by the Nyanga Hiking Club, a group of volunteers that take kids usually into the mountain.
Dani Saporetti, organiser and volunteer of Nyanga Hiking Club, said, “”We’ve done a beach clean up once before and have been trying to organise another one. We decided to clean up Miller’s Point then swim. We were so excited to find an organised cleanup happening and we happily joined in.“
The group came with 80 kids to join the beach cleanup and were quickly briefed by Calah Couzen from Sentinel Ocean. Safety is important but also knowing what needs to be collected after gloves were given to all children, equipped with tally sheets, the kids and adults set out to pick up litter.
Most items picked up were cigarette butts, broken pieces of glass and fishing gear. After one hour of cleaning, the children of Nyanga Hiking Club jumped into the water at the tidal pool and enjoyed splashing in the water.
Gunnar Oberhoesel, the photographer on the day, said “It was mesmerising to watch the children get so excited about being in the water. Some were scared to take the slide at first, but they got braver and braver. It was a happy day, and we did something great for the environment. This is the combination we need most. Taking care of the planet should be fun for everyone.”
After each beach cleanup, the trash will be sorted by Kommetjie-based recycler Yolanda Valentine. She and her team separate the trash to go to the landfill or if it can be recycled.
It was a great turnout. You can always do your bit by picking up three pieces of plastic when you go to the beach.
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