LEAP Juniors clean-up Baie Ternay beach for Earth Day

The LEAP Junior clubs from Port Glaud Primary and Anse Boileau Secondary schools teamed up for a beach clean-up at Baie Ternay on 22 April for Earth Day. The students have had 4 clean-ups every year in the Port Glaud district since the club was established in 2021.

The Earth Day beach clean up took place at Baie Ternay

The Earth Day beach clean up took place at Baie Ternay

The event started with a teach-in session on waste and recycling at the LEAP (Locally Empowered Area Protection) project base at Cap Ternay. The project team highlighted the importance of reducing, reusing and properly disposing of everyday items, particularly single-use plastic items. This was followed by a briefing on safety measures for the clean-up.

The group of 22 kids then set out on either side of Baie Ternay during low tide. With a wider beach exposure, students could walk along and out towards the coastal headlands on either side of the bay.

They collected glass and plastic bottles, PVC pipes, slippers, fishing materials, and buoys, as well as scrap metal and cloth material.

The students noted that most of what was found was litter floating in the water, exposed by the low tide, entangled in the seagrass, and some even partially buried in the sand.

Collecting the shell of a poached turtle

Collecting the shell of a poached turtle

The kids came face to face with the reality of turtle poaching when they stumbled upon two pieces of a shell. Only 30 centimetres long, the shell looked like it belonged to a juvenile Hawksbill turtle.

After sorting the trash in the afternoon, the group found that most of it was made up of plastic, including items commonly used and discarded, such as water bottles and packaging material. Approximately 45 kg of trash was sorted.

The Port Glaud LEAP Junior facilitator, Ms Jenny Labaleine, observed that the trash collected at Baie Ternay seems to have decreased over the 2 years and that the amount pales in comparison to the amount collected at the more accessible and populated Port Launay beach.

I’m happy that we find less and less every time we clean at Baie Ternay. It is clear that reduced vehicle access deters littering in the marine national park.’

The LEAP Junior clubs aim to increase awareness of marine and coastal habitats and encourage positive attitudes towards the environment and the protection of natural resources.

Sorting the trash in the afternoon

Sorting the trash in the afternoon

Beach clean-ups are important because marine litter can harm wildlife, damage ecosystems, and even affect human health.

Plastic debris can be mistaken for food by marine animals such as turtles, leading to entanglement and ingestion, which can sometimes be fatal.
Discarded fishing gear can entangle and kill marine life for years.

Trash also negatively impacts beach quality, which we rely on for tourism.

If we all just picked up after ourselves, we could keep our beaches clean and beautiful! Participating in beach clean-ups and reducing single-use plastic can also help lessen the impacts of litter and protect our oceans and beaches.

The LEAP Junior Clubs are part of a Nature Seychelles project at the two Marine National Parks that seeks to increase community involvement in the parks.

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