On this Saturday, the Tenerife Island Council conducted a beach clean-up at Almáciga and Benijo to mark World Oceans Day. The event was graced by the presence of the council’s president, Rosa Dávila; the insular director of the Natural Environment, Pedro Millán, and the council member of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council, Gladis de León. The clean-up included waste collection and a practical workshop discussing the issue of microplastics, supported by the Applied Analytical Chemistry Research Group of the University of La Laguna.
The initiative, led by the Cabildo’s Environmental Participation and Volunteering Office, was carried out in partnership with the Department of the Environment and the Santa Cruz Sostenible Foundation, along with the backing of the Applied Analytical Chemistry Research Group of the University of La Laguna, the Tenerife Island Mountaineering Federation, the Nivaria Mountaineers Club, the Terramare Cultural, Recreational and Sports Association, and the Scout Group 6 Ucanca.
“Taking responsibility for our environment is a mindset, and we aim to forge alliances that encompass all citizens and engage them in the preservation and protection of our coast,” expressed Rosa Dávila. She highlighted that the Environmental Participation and Volunteering Office organises about 400 activities annually with the participation of roughly 5,000 individuals, stating, “Thus, we will persist in collaborating with these groups in a collaborative manner to establish a network of volunteers connected to the coast for a better island.”
Pedro Millán emphasised that in Tenerife, numerous public and private entities are actively collaborating and carrying out volunteer initiatives in support of marine habitat conservation. “For this collaborative effort to yield more effective and lasting outcomes, there’s a requirement for coordination and a unified approach among competent bodies and authorities, which is why we are launching the Environmental Participation and Volunteering Strategy for Tenerife’s Marine Coast unveiled yesterday, Friday.”
The essence of World Oceans Day is to raise awareness about human impact on the oceans, foster a global support movement, and rally individuals towards a sustainable management scheme for our seas. Apart from the beach cleaning at Almáciga and Benijo, an environmental workshop and urban waste collection were conducted in Candelaria, in an event that saw collaboration from the council, the Oceans Transition Environmental Association, the Terramare Cultural, Recreational and Sports Association, and Scout Group 6 Ucanca. Furthermore, the Cabildo is involved in the Cimasub Festival, Tenerife International Underwater Film Series, Ocean Film Tour Festival, and the event ‘Oceans: sea turtles and conservation in the Teno Rasca marine strip’ held from June 3 to 9 in Arona.
