Making greater Knysna shine
Joining International Coastal Cleanup Day
Taking place on International Coastal Cleanup Day once again, the fourth annual Greater Knysna Spring Clean was a roaring success with just under 300 bags of trash collected to be canned.
The clean-up was organised for the first time by Ocean Odyssey in 2018 and has consistently grown with more and more groups cleaning the Greater Knysna area before two groups dropped out this year.
The 2021 event took place on Saturday 18 September, which also marked the annual International Coastal Cleanup Day (held every third Saturday of September).
But, despite the absence of two teams, numbers were still impressive, with 27 teams and 251 participants covering areas from Coney Glen in Knysna all the way to Gericke’s Point in Sedgefield.
The Lake Brenton area was cleaned by Sanparks Honorary Rangers and friends.
According to organiser Teresa da Mata, conditions were not great to dive this year, so all the teams did land clean-ups. Again, this does not mean that the work done was minimal. “The teams collected a total of 291 bags of trash (bags sponsored by the municipality and a gentleman in Sedgefield) as well as a few other random items such as kettles and ship toilets on Goukamma Beach.”
Photo gallery: Local coastal cleanups in Knysna and Plettenberg Bay
One of the teams even came across a discarded golf bag, and the Allsound Security team that covered the Costa Sarda pathway recovered three shopping trolleys – which is not unusual. “Our team at Swartvlei Beach reported loads of microplastics including lollipop sticks and earbuds by the masses,” Da Mata said.
“Our Brenton team did an amazing job – they had a total of seven teams spread out on the beach, at viewpoints and wetlands with a total of 52 participants and 108 bags collected. They also worked with the Brenton Ratepayers Association and the Alien Busters clearing the verges along Brenton Road.”
The teams that cleaned Cola and Myoli beaches in Sedgefield joined forces on the day.
Da Mata emphasised the importance of the event. “The aim of the event is to educate and open our locals’ eyes! We need to make our town sparkle again and for this to happen we all need to be conscious of our surroundings and how we can improve them and not simply walk past a piece of rubbish on the ground,” she said.
“I would like to encourage all of Knysna to jump onto the #pavementproud campaign with Revive Knysna, as this is a great way to prepare our town for the festive season! I am so grateful for the support I received this year and am already looking forward to planning the next one!”
One of The Teams that cleaned up around Brenton-on-Sea. From left: Shelley Carlisle, Mariette Bothma, Candace Myers, Lizelle van Dyk, Leolene Bamburger and Verna Wiehan.
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