Making a splash for World Clean-Up Day 2020

Ambassadors of the Environment and Cayman Eco are teaming up on World Clean-Up Day, Saturday, 19 September 2020, to give the mangroves in North Sound some much-needed TLC. Participating with over 160 clean-up teams registered with The Chamber of Commerce for the 2020 Clean-up on the shores and streets of Cayman, they will be doing something a little different: paddling out in kayaks to clean up the mangroves in North Sound.

“It’s going to be rewarding to get in there as a team and dig out all of that marine waste that is not just unsightly but harmful to the ecosystem the mangroves support,” said Tammy Kelderman, environmental sociologist and founder of the local environmental non-profit organization, Cayman Eco.

Jordan Charles, Recreation Manager at Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ambassadors of the Environment at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman said he could not agree more. “Ambassadors of the Environment takes great pride in educating the wider public about the essential role mangroves play in our island environment. Mangroves provide natural coastal defense, marine and terrestrial habitats, carbon sequestration, protection for our reefs against fresh water run-off, and a nursery ground for a wide array of juvenile ocean life amongst more. One of their stand-out features that aids many of their environmental benefits is an incredibly complex root structure. However, this complexity does mean that an alarming amount of waste material becomes trapped. Whilst we realize that the true solution lies with reducing the amount waste entering our planet’s oceans, we truly believe that attendance at a clean-up can provide vital stimulus for changing people’s everyday actions as consumers.”

The two teams will also be collecting data for the Ocean Conservancy on their global app, Clean Swell, to track the number and types of things they find.

The Chamber of Commerce is encouraging teams of volunteers to sign up for beach and street clean-ups via their website. Diving and watersports operators are also holding undersea reef cleanups. The whole country will be out in force to clean the trash from the beaches, streets, and ocean. To register your team, go to https://www.caymanchamber.ky/earthday.htmlor call the Chamber of Commerce at 949-8090.