Aftermath of the CLEAN-UP “From Mareta to the Fortress” – A Disgrace, and a Success!

Saturday, 30 October 2010

Clean-up carried out by volunteers Following on from the Limpar Portugal Project

A DISGRACE because:

X The amount of rubbish on the paths down to Praia da Mareta, the village beach and one of the busiest, is staggering.

X More staggering still is the rubbish of every kind imaginable, and then some (old timber, broken tables and chairs, toilets, tubing, pipes, ropes, bags, bottles, etc.), that has been piling up for years beside and behind the Restaurante Raposo.

X Few volunteers turned up; at the start we went to ask the campervan travellers for help, and six of them promptly volunteered!

A SUCCESS because:

** Little by little more people turned up; in all there were 18 adults and 2 children. Thank you to Heike and 2 friends from abroad, to Anabela and Ricardo from Divers Cape, to Sara and her little boy Tomás from Mar Ilimitado, to Dr Anabela and Eng. Vicente from the Câmara Municipal de Vila do Bispo, to Weizen, to the Angolan lifeguard who was working at Mareta during October, and to the 6 campervan travellers from abroad (Sweden, Finland and England). They were all excellent!

** We removed more than 900 kg of rubbish!

** We did the clean-up with high-quality bags and gloves, supported by Suma and Hidurbe, through the contact made by the Câmara de Vila do Bispo

** This clean-up reaches beyond our borders, and our English volunteer Simon is spreading the idea in his country - http://www.bloggsd.com/live_surf_travel_blog/2010/11/giving-back-to-nature-is-a-social-good-get-on-board-and-clean-up.html

AND WHAT'S MORE:

¦ As there were so few of us, we could not cover the whole route we had set out to do, that is, as far as the Fortress; however, after inspecting the area, the rubbish there does not justify a group action, and 2 cleaning staff would be enough to collect the litter scattered over the cliffs.

¦ The Restaurante Raposo, despite the huge amount of rubbish collected there, still has a lot of rubbish around it, so those responsible ought to be held to account.

¦ In the fenced-off area above the Restaurante Telheiro, and more precisely at the top of that fence next to the road, there is an enormous amount of rubbish. As it is private land, the owner should be made aware of it; although he is certainly not the one who made this rubbish, as the owner he ought to take action.

IN SHORT,

This whole area is a tourist area; more than that, it is one of the central parts of Sagres, where most of the residents like to walk, it is their second “back garden”. It is unacceptable that we allow rubbish to build up, or that we drop rubbish, anywhere at all. Nature is our home!

FOR A NEXT CLEAN-UP:

¤ Anyone can volunteer to organise a clean-up ¤ First make sure the place has enough rubbish for a group action ¤ Set the initiative for a Saturday, Sunday or bank holiday ¤ Contact whatever support you think you need, the council, the parish council, the fire brigade, for materials and publicity ¤ Post your intentions on the site http://limparportugal.ning.com/group/viladobispo, and create an event, so that all the members of Limpar Portugal know about it

Blessings to everyone who cares for the Environment!