WILLEMSTAD - For the second time in the past month, a group of American students from the Broadreach program (summer school) has held a cleanup in Shete Boka National Park. The Caribbean Research and Management of Biodiversity (CARMABI), which manages the National Park, assisted the group in the clean-up.
According to Carmabi, it was another successful beach clean-up with a new group of students from the Broadreach program. When some tourists saw the students cleaning up the beach, they joined the team and also helped clean the beach. The group picked up the smaller pieces, such as bottle caps, lollipop sticks, pieces of Styrofoam and broken plastic. The ocean can break down these small pieces of plastic into microplastics, which are extremely harmful to the ocean and aquatic life.
The breeding season for sea turtles has started, so it is extra important that the beaches are clean and safe to breed. A small piece of waste can be a major obstacle for the mother turtles to breed or for the baby turtles to find their way back to the ocean.
The Shete Boka National Park is one of the main breeding areas on the island. That is why it is very important that the beaches are free of waste and plastic.