Celebrate our critical coasts

Hope Town Primary School teachers, parents and students participating in a coastal clean up as a part of April’s Coastal Awareness month. The trash that was picked up most often last year? Plastic bags. PHOTO CREDIT: FRIENDS.

By Friends of the Environment

April is Coastal Awareness Month in The Bahamas! To help raise awareness and celebrate our lovely and important coasts, FRIENDS has a number of activities planned. We hope you will find the time to join us for one or create your own event to celebrate our coasts.

Coastal Clean-up Month: FRIENDS will be organizing clean ups throughout the month with schools and community groups. All of the trash that’s picked up will be recorded to identify the most common trash. Last year’s winner: Plastic bags.

Re-restoring Crossing Beach: In 2007 FRIENDS partnered with the Nature Conservancy and local businesses to restore the dune and replant Crossing Beach in Marsh Harbour across from Albury’s Ferry docks. Coastal dunes are so important for protection from storms but without native plants they flatten out and lose their protective power. Hurricane Sandy damaged a lot of the plants there and so the area needs some attention before invasive plants creep back in. FRIENDS will be looking for volunteers to assist with the replanting in late April.

Going Native in Green Turtle Cay: FRIENDS will be working with Amy Roberts Primary School on April 12th to remove invasive Hawaiian seagrape and plant native, as well as organizing a beach cleanup. That evening we’ll also be doing a presentation on native plants at the Roland Roberts house. Stop by and join us for a glass of wine and learn a little something about the importance of native plants and our coasts.

Celebrating the coast in Hope Town: FRIENDS is working with the Abaco Inn to plant native on dunes where Hawaiian seagrape was removed. Once the planting is done, we will be celebrating our coasts on April 20th from 5 – 7  at the Abaco Inn with a rum tasting and have native plant experts in attendance to help you choose the plants best for your area.

Native plants and dunes in Treasure Cay: Join FRIENDS at Treasure Sands for some complimentary tapas and wine and to learn about native plants and their impact on the coasts and the all-important dunes.

Going Native all spring long!: With support from the GEF Small grants fund FRIENDS will be rewarding people who remove invasive plants with native plants and a driftwood sign that signifies that the yard owner has “Gone Native”. Sign up today!

Earth Day Celebration: FRIENDS will be celebrating Earth Day, Monday April 22nd at our Education Center in Marsh Harbour, starting at 4 p.m.

The health of our marine and coastal environment has direct impacts on the environmental, social and economic well-being of every Bahamian. Each April, we put extra attention on these critical habitats as a reminder of our reliance on them and the importance of maintaining clean and healthy ecosystems. If each of us makes small changes in our daily lives it can add up to a real positive impact on the health of our coasts and will contribute to making our lives more sustainable.

Simple actions such as these can make a big difference!

  • Pick up litter and make sure your trash makes it into the proper receptacle.
  • Be conservative with your energy usage, walk or ride a bike instead of driving.
  • Use a reusable water bottle and/or coffee cup rather than plastic water bottles and to-go cups.
  • Buy sustainably caught seafood, fish for only what your family needs for a meal.
  • Plant native plants, spay and neuter your pets and keep them at home.

To learn more about threats to the coast and actions you can take to help, please visit www.coastalawareness.org.

To get involved in any of these events or to host a clean-up of your own, contact Friends of the Environment at info@friendsoftheenvironment.org or 242-367-2721. Please visit our website, www.FriendsoftheEnvironment.org, for more information about these events as the month goes on.