This year the Abundant Life Foundation was proud to host our 4th Annual Reef Cleanup event on Roatán! Together with several businesses and volunteers from every corner of the island, we were able to collect over 700 pounds of trash from the coastline, keeping them out of the ocean waters surrounding Roatán.
We asked Russell Cloud, who volunteered his time to coordinate for this year’s event, to tell us more about the cleanup and its impact on the Bay Islands.
What is the reef cleanup and why does ALF do it annually? The reef cleanup is an ongoing effort of the Abundant Life Foundation to preserve the natural beauty and maintain the health of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. This is part of an ongoing effort to educate the public on the importance of preserving this national treasure.
Why is the reef cleanup held the weekend after Semana Santa? Due to the high traffic of visitors to the island during Semana Santa (Holy Week) there is a higher volume of trash and debris that ends up on the streets, beaches and ultimately washes into the ocean and on the reef. Many of these visitors have not been educated on the importance of the reef to the island’s environment.
What is the impact of the reef cleanup on the island? The cleanup brings together local residents as well as guests and visitors who are vacationing on the island. In addition, it offers an opportunity to educate everyone on the importance of working together to maintain and preserve the natural beauty of the reef, beaches and communities of Roatán.
Who participated in the cleanup this year? In addition to the Abundant Life Foundation, The Grand Roatán Resort and Roatán Marine Park, there were several resorts, local business owners and their employees, local residents and visitors staying at resorts and hotels from West Bay to Sandy Bay who volunteered. There were 120 participants in the clean-up at two locations this year, our largest event ever. West Bay and West End were the focus of this year’s cleanup.
What was the significance of all of the different organizations working together? I saw how bringing together local communities and businesses for a common purpose builds community. Communities can work together to increase awareness about picking up and properly disposing of trash ensuring it is not on the streets, beaches and the reef.
Did you make any significant observations during this year’s cleanup? There was a special effort this year to separate the trash by type, weigh each type of trash and record the results. This data was then combined for West Bay and West End and sent to the Roatán Marine Park who then forwarded this data to the worldwide agencies that track this information. The total weight of all the trash collected was 713 lbs.
As a long-time ALF supporter volunteering to coordinate the event, what was your experience working with ALF Staff? I worked and collaborated with Evie Flowers, the Marketing Coordinator for ALF. We conducted meetings with our two presenting partners, The Grand Roatán and the Roatán Marine Park. On the day of the event, staff and volunteers were divided between West Bay and West End working with the local resorts, businesses, residents and island visitors who took part.
We’d like to offer a special thank you to this year’s sponsors and volunteer organization that helped make this year’s event such a success:
- The Grand Roatán Resort
- Roatan Marine Park
- Coral Reef Alliance
- Warfighter SCUBA
- Infinity Bay Resort
- Paradise Beach Hotel
- Lions Club Roatan Island
- West Bay Divers
- Nature Divers
- Methodist Bilingual School
- Centro de Rehabilitation
- Cayuco Divers
- Swordfish Roatan
- Off the Hook
- Helen’s Backpack Hostel
