Beach Buddies Program
Audience: kids grades 3 through grade 12
Minimum group size: 20
Location: any local beach
Time: 2 hours, any time from 9 am – 3 pm
Cost: Free
| Includes: |
- Marine Conservation Orientation
- Beach Clean Up & all supplies
- Official Beach Buddy T-shirt
- Thank You Ocean Awards
- Water
|
Bahamian Kids Proudly Clean–Up Against Marine Debris
Why would hundreds of kids and educators voluntarily pick up other people’s trash?
Why help? Why not!?
In the face of overwhelming environmental problems, it is not uncommon to feel powerless to help. But citizen beach clean-ups demonstrate that we are not powerless in the fight to stop marine debris. Marine debris is caused by people and can only be stopped by people.
A beach littered with trash is a depressing sight. But a beach lined with volunteers armed with trash bags and eager to clean up is a positive, hopeful sight. We can all help when it comes to cleaner beaches. Beach clean-ups serve many important functions. The deaths of thousands of marine animals- including seabirds, whales, dolphins, sea turtles, and fish- can be prevented by removing plastics from beaches and the ocean. These animals often ingest or become entangled in plastics.
Beaches are places that Bahamians enjoy in the evenings, on weekends and holidays. Broken glass and trash make it dangerous to play at the beach! The privilege to play there means packing up the trash you brought. It’s even better if you pick up a couple extra pieces so that others would know you want a clean beach.
Finally, beaches are an important attraction for tourists. The long, beautiful clean beaches people see in the advertisements of the Bahamas should be what they see in reality! Keeping our beaches clean will mean that travelers will continue to make the Bahamas their destination of choice.
Project BEACH has designed the Conservation Kit to help you have more fun, educational activities with your kids after the event. We believe that our continued efforts to monitor the kinds and amounts of trash found on our beaches will help citizens and policy makers reach the
Sea Awards, Books& Videos Rock With Teachers
Stewardship deserves rewards! Each child will receive a special sea award, a reminder to take action to protect the ocean.
The best team of marine debris collectors will win book & video awards.
The free Marine Conservation Kit is packed with classroom activities so that learning doesn’t just stop at the beach.
Farm Road Community Project & ‘Beach Buddies’ Join Hands!
The Farm Road Community Project seeks to fight crime by encouraging children to become involved in activities that have a positive effect on themselves and their community.
“We discovered that if we worked with children that lived in high crime areas and gave them alternative, wholesome activities, they would be much less likely to choose criminal ones,” said Police Inspector Stephen Dean, founder of the Project. “To save our kids from lives of crime we need to offer them alternatives. We have the children participate in community programs such as Beach Buddies that help foster a better appreciation for our country and teach them to keep the environment clean. These are all important messages.”
“Being a teacher, I have used the Beach Buddies Project twice every year,” said Mrs. Bridgette Cooper, Coordinator of the Project’s Summer Camp. “Our theme for this camp is, ‘Reach Out & Touch: Making a Difference in My Community.’ With that in mind, we thought that it would only be fitting that the children of the Farm Road Community come out to the beaches, clean up our environment, and make a difference.”
Each Free Beach Clean-up Outreach program Includes:
- Conservation
- Orientation
- Data Collection Cards and Pencils
- Rubber Gloves and Trash Bags
- Drinking Water and Cups
- New Sea Awards
- Book and Video Awards
- Marine Education Kit and Certificate
