The 2019 Great Mangrove Cleanup
The 2nd Annual Great Mangrove Cleanup of the St. Thomas East End Reserves (STEER), took place Saturday, April 13. STEER is a vital marine protected area on the east end of St. Thomas. One hundred and fifteen volunteers, ages 9-70, removed 1,786 pounds of debris from mangrove shorelines in kayak-based and land-based cleanups of mangrove shorelines.
This effort was only possible with the support of our volunteers!
Students from the University of the Virgin Islands, Ivanna Eudora Kean High School, Charlotte Amalie High School, Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School, Ulla F. Muller Elementary School, Joseph Sibilly Elementary School, and homeschool students, participated in the Cleanup, along with individuals from 13 other organizations.
Photos of volunteers by KW Grimes.
and… they found some interesting things!
Infographic by Elisa Bryan & Kristin Wilson Grimes
Thank you sponsors!
Sponsors of the event included University of the Virgin Islands Center for Marine & Environmental Studies, Virgin Islands Department of Planning & Natural Resources, Virgin Islands Marine Advisory Service, Virgin Islands Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (VI EPSCoR), Virgin Islands EcoTours, St. Thomas Recovery Team, Pizza Pi, Yes! Waste Management, Virgin Islands Marine Rebuild Fund, and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Debris Program.
The top 10 items collectedwere:
246 plastic beverage bottles
133 plastic pieces
114 other plastic bottles
113 plastic cups and plates
111 glass beverage bottles
109 construction materials
92 plastic grocery bags
89 other plastic bags
83 other plastic/foam packaging
82 beverage cans
Other weird finds included:
2 refrigerators
1 television
1 polaroid camera
11 tires
15 life jackets
Dr. Kristin Grimes
“It was exciting to see so many people come out for this event, again this year. Working together we removed nearly 1,800 pounds of trash – that’s a big impact! Like last year, the most common item we collected were plastic beverage bottles. What that tells me, is that plastic beverage bottles are a consistent marine debris problem for St. Thomas, so we should all be thinking more about what we are drinking out of, where we dispose of it, and where it may end up.” – Dr. Kristin Grimes, Assistant Professor, Center for Marine & Environmental Studies, University of the Virgin Islands