Sustainable Coastlines Rotoroa Island Valentine's Day Clean-up
Sustainable Coastlines organised a fabulous day with volunteers clearing our island coast on 12th February. Sumana shares their experience of helping out, having new experiences and meeting takahē.
Our coastline clean-up on Rotoroa Island to celebrate Valentine’s Day was a huge success! Our 64 amazing volunteers removed 350 litres of litter from the island’s coast, in order to protect our moana and native wildlife. It wasn’t as much litter as we were expecting (which is a good thing!), but still a significant amount to be clean-up off a small island. The main items of litter found were rope, fishing line, and buoys; the data from the Litter Intelligence survey can be found here.
Despite what we thought might be a rough ferry journey due to the weather conditions, volunteers turned up with smiles on their faces and were ready to spend the day on a beautiful island, and get stuck in to cleaning up! We spotted a family of takahē, which was a big highlight of the day.
Volunteers were sent to different parts of the island to clean up, ensuring we covered as much of the coastline as possible. They had the afternoon to relax, swim, and explore the island.
"This event was the best way to spend a Saturday and see an island I normally wouldn’t. The weather ended up holding out and was perfect - the right amount of cloud for being outdoors all day. The briefing and rubbish collection was eye-opening, the lunch provided was delicious, and the time to explore and swim was the cherry on top. I came out of it feeling fulfilled and more knowledgeable and look forward to the next event. Thank you, Sustainable Coastlines and Garnier!" - Jessica
Glen and other staff on the island were super helpful with transporting our gear on and off the ferry and from the wharf to home base.
A massive thank you to Garnier for supporting our mahi at Sustainable Coastlines, and for making this day possible!
"We felt like we were a part of an important and rewarding experience. We will definitely be back for another cleanup and bringing more friends along". - Cindy
Written by Sumana, Sustainable Coastlines.
Photos by Irena, Cima Photography.
