Save a Fishie’s recent Coast to Coast clean-up campaign kicked off at just the right time – as piles of waste washed ashore on beaches in Bloubergstrand, Melkbosstrand and Milnerton.
Their journey started at Big Bay on May 20 and will continue with daily clean-ups all the way to Port Nolloth, before crossing the country and continuing down the East Coast.
“We will be documenting our journey across these key elements: environment, education and entertainment. We will also have a live tracking meter showing the public our kilometres travelled, kilograms of litter collected, number of nurdles picked up and more,” says founder Zoë Prinsloo.
Prinsloo, a 20-year-old environmental activist, has been cleaning beaches since the age of 10 and has to date cleaned over 120 beaches and collected over 10 tons of litter in the process.
“We will be cleaning up over 100 beaches along our South African coastline from May to July, and working with community schools and organisations to raise awareness around the effects of plastic pollution on our ocean and personal health. We will also be collecting citizen science-based data on the quantity and variety of plastics we collect, which will be made available to the public on our website,” Prinsloo says.
First clean-up
The team held their first clean-up at Eden on the Bay on Saturday 20 May and picked up a total of 166 kg of waste.
“So grateful to all my amazing sponsors who got us here today. Thank you to all the wonderful volunteers who came out today. Even the weather was perfect! I am so ready for the many clean-ups to come over these next two months. Can’t wait to share our journey with you,” Prinsloo says.
After their first beach clean-up at Eden on the Bay, they headed straight to their second clean-up at Derdesteen Beach.
“This clean-up was just our Coast to Coast team with my dad and boyfriend. We collected a further 13 kilograms there and would you believe, no microplastics in our 1 m x 1 m grid search,” she says.
Help is always needed
There are many ways you can help their organisation.
Follow them on social media and visit their website to learn more about how you can get involved.
