Cleanup Efforts Continue

For the Department of the Environment, sand restoration is currently in the cleanup and conservation spotlight. Staff members are consulting with Coastal Planning & Engineering, a Boca Raton, Florida firm, with a view to replacing the volumes of sand that were washed onto the roads and that have stockpiled in many locations.

Starting along Seven Mile Beach and areas along the south coast, the beach survey continues, for few of Grand Cayman’s coastal areas escaped the ravages of sand displacement and many waterfront dive centres and other properties are actively pursuing restoration options.

Meanwhile, the beach and underwater cleanup organised by the Cayman Islands Tourism Association (CITA) continues this weekend (6/7 November) and will focus on Cheeseburger Reef in George Town and the snorkel and dive sites to its north. Dive cleanups will also take place at Turtle Reef in West Bay.

Last weekend (30/31 October) an estimated 50 beachcombers and snorkellers, and 118 divers helped out with the cleanup covering Smith’s Cove, Armchair Reef, reefs fringing the Holiday Inn and 200m North, The Reef (Resort Sports) to Captain’s Bakery (Beach), Public Beach to the Pinnacle (Beach), Cheeseburger Reef, Eden Rock, Doc Paulson, Chain Link Reef and Mitch Miller’s Reef. Lots of debris was found in the northern areas of Seven Mile Beach. Volunteers included staff from The Royal Reef in the East End and Deloitte and Touche, in addition to CITA Watersport operators.

Helping out with cleanup projects across the island are a number of employees from the financial services industry called the Ivan Weekend Warriors. Consisting of 50 volunteers, the group have worked on church grounds, schools and homes of the elderly and needy in the community. They have helped out with the CITA and Chamber of Commerce cleanups and have worked on school projects for Triple C and Cayman Prep. Volunteers are made up of staff from companies including UBS, HSBC, PwC, Maples, Ernst & Young, Dresdner Bank and RK consulting.

If you would like assistance with clean up or repair projects contact the Ivan Weekend Warriors by calling Bill Carnahan at UBS (326 3014) or Padraig Hoare at Dresdner Bank (916 5319).