BEACH Clean up! WSORC volunteer Bobby joined forces with Bay Islands Conservation Association to help them out during their beach cleaning efforts.

It's been a little quiet from us as staff and volunteers at the Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center have been racing around this last week in a jam-packed ride of conservation efforts, big fundraising events, research projects and more!  In a bid to fill you in on some of the events WSORC has been involved with from the past week, below is Bobby's account of his participation at the Bay Islands Conservation Association's big beach clean on Pumpkin Hill beach.  We are at the start of sea turtle nesting season here in Utila, so in a bid to clear the beach of waste so the female hawksbill sea turtles coming ashore to lay their eggs are not faced with a barrage of trash, volunteers and the local community and schools went along to Pumpkin Hill beach to clear things up!

Photo credit to Simon Hilbourne

            It took a little while to find the Bay Islands Conservation Association building, but in the end, facing the hills and sun was worth it. Today BICA organized a clean-up on Pumpkin Hill beach, to which volunteers from the Iguana Station and Whale Shark Center (myself), backpackers, and local Utilians responded; first thing in the morning, we donned our new t-shirts, clambered into a couple of trucks, and shipped off to the other side of the island. Hanging onto the tailgate of the second truck, I watched the jungle pass by as we weaved through dirt roads and bounded tree roots and puddles to reach this remote beach. Eventually the scent of the sea caught the breeze and I could loosen my death-grip on the bedrail.

            Trash bags were passed out and we got to work—although volunteers had reached the beach before I stepped onto it, there was still an impressive amount of trash strewn across the sand. Nets, bottles, torn-up flip-flops, and plastic miscellany had become part of the landscape, and our mission was to remove it, clearing the beach for sea turtle nesting season. After an hour or so, I was very happy with our headway, seeing most the garbage was removed from this small piece of coast; my fellow volunteers had done well working around tidal marks, rock outcroppings, and sand patches. Satisfied, I moved down the beach where we had not begun working, and what I saw would have been beautiful had it not been so appalling.

            A broad spectrum of colors and shapes painted the palate of the shore; the relatively small amount of assorted plastic waste I’d seen up to this point was one hundred times multiplied. Greens, blues, reds, yellows, pinks, and purples created an intricate mosaic—a labyrinth of products dismissed by people long ago now finding a place on Utila’s shore. Diving into this mess, a new friend of mine looked back into the field of rubbish, perhaps overwhelmed, and said, “It looks like we’re barely making an impact.”

            Now I couldn’t help but recall an African folktale I had heard a while ago, in which a fire broke out in a forest. The animal inhabitants escaped to safety, but stopped to watch as their home burned. As they sat—defeated, overwhelmed—a tiny hummingbird went to work; he flew down to the stream, took a few drops of water in his beak, and flew back to the forest, dropping the moisture onto the flames. He continued, ignoring the larger animals’ taunts and jokes, animals that with their bigness could have had a much greater impact on the fire. Finally, after hearing “What are you doing hummingbird? You’re much too little to stop the fire” one too many times, he told his fellow animals, “I am doing what I can.”

            I turned to my friend, “But we are making an impact,” and we continued working, a veritable sea of waste before us. Altogether, the beach-clean volunteers collected about forty bags full of trash. Hopefully this will be enough to allow for the turtles to make their nests—we’ll see in the weeks to come—and hopefully the rest of the world will join the efforts of the brave hummingbirds working on Utila.

Thanks Bobby! What a solid effort!  Beach clean ups will be going on throughout the year here on Utila as conservation organisations and the local community stand together to try and tackle the garbage build up along Utila's coastline.  Come get involved & join us for the next big beach clean up on 27th June!

REDUCE - REUSE - RECYCLE!

These past couple weeks WSORC's team of dedicated volunteers have been recycling old redundant wetsuits that were destined for the trash and making fun creative bar coasters with them!

Here's a little insight into the efforts and reasoning behind this creative approach to recycling from Bobby:

Beneath the beautiful appearance of the Bay Islands, an important issue is developing: deciding how to deal with our garbage. On a quick snorkel or walk around Utila, one can find varying signs of irresponsible human activity—from plastic plates and Styrofoam cups to shopping bags and water bottles. This waste eventually ends up in the ocean and building up on our shores, damaging delicate organisms as it barrels through surrounding coral reefs. Besides affecting animals and plants, washed-up trash on Utila’s graceful coastline dims its natural beauty.  Utila attracts many tourists every year and the economy here on Utila relies heavily upon this industry.  It is therefore critical that we work together to protect and preserve the natural beauty of this island, that so many people come to see and which others rely on.

In response to the issue of waste and recycling, the Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center, as well as other conservation organizations on the island are undertaking recycling projects and beach clean-ups. Currently, WSORC are collecting old redundant wetsuits being discarded by dive shops and reshaping them into coasters for local bars. This creative endeavor has several “green” benefits: first, the wetsuits avoid being dumped in the landfill site; second, the bars will stop using mountains of paper napkins to catch condensation, reducing trash; thirdly, as a non-profit conservation organization, these coasters are generating some much needed funding for the center. We also collect plastic bottles and bags in order to bring them to the recycling centers. Projects like these are essential to the preservation of Utila’s natural splendor, and we hope our endeavors will work towards a more sustainable island lifestyle and preserve the natural beauty of Utila for years to come.

If you would like to support WSORC in our latest recycling efforts, please feel free to come by and drop off your plastic bottles for recycling here at the center.  Also, if you are in need of any personalized coasters, come get your orders in here!  Check out the creativity below!

Meet Bobby!  WSORC's newest volunteer!  Bobby is joining the team here at WSORC from his home town Wichita in Kansas, and is dedicating 10 weeks of his summer holidays to volunteering at the center.  MASSIVE THANK YOU BOBBY!

Bobby is studying Biology at Kansas State University and has a specific interest in the research of marine ecosystems.  Already throwing himself into the volunteer life at the center,  in his first week here Bobby has helped finalize our first order of recycled wetsuit coasters for Traquila Bar, completed his PADI Advanced Open Water certification with the Bay Islands College of Diving in order to complete his first research dives with the center, and today went on a beach clean up organised by BICA - the Bay Islands Conservation Association, alongside their volunteers and others from the Iguana Station.  Look out for Bobby's updates on his experiences so far!  Welcome Bobby!

Welcome to the Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center blog! We have been a little quite of late but things are set to change!  Conservation and research are on the move! We will be making a lot of great noise from now on so watch this space!  First off, WSORC would like to introduce Lucie, our new Director at the center.  Lucie is a conservation biologist from the UK with a great passion for conservation and the natural world, and she is no stranger to Utila either.  5 years ago Lucie was a volunteer at the Iguana Station, and since then has traveled around Latin America and the Caribbean, working for a whole host of conservation wildlife organisations and community development projects. Welcome Lucie!