In March 2020 the JET team took to the highways and visited our Big Up Wi Beach community partners Duncans Bay Beach in Trelawny, Alligator Pond in Manchester and Winnifred's Beach in Portland.
Our first stop was Duncans Bay Beach, where we met with Sandra and other community members. It was a great opportunity to see and hear about all the work and progress that they have been making in protecting their beach environment.
There was so much to see, from the welcoming sign that was made by the community group to the well-maintained lawns and the beautiful beach vegetation.
The community shared some of their plans with us for reducing the garbage that was that was placed in the bins on the beach. One of the suggestions was to develop a recycling space that utilised the materials with the possibility of creating a closed loop.
Our next stop was Alligator Pond, the drive in was much easier with parts of the road having been newly paved. We were greeted by members of the Alligator Pond Citizens' Association & Fishermen’s Cooperation, who took us around the community where we were able to see all the changes that had taken place since the last visit. This included the swamp area being drained for the development of a sports field. One of the many changes that really stood out was the new “Fish” for collecting plastic bottles, that was a visual reminder encouraging the community to recycle.
The Association spoke about the increased participation from the school children in recycling with the focus on collecting plastic bottles as part of the Wisynco Eco Schools collection drive. They also noted their enthusiasm in protecting the sea turtles, five (5) turtles were saved from poachers and released due to intervention from schoolers. The Association was very enthusiastic about the work that they had been doing throughout the community and were galvanised around a number of projects that they have in the pipeline.
Our final stop was a short visit to Winnifred’s Beach. It was here that we met with Nino and Cynthia from the Free Winnifred Beach Benevolent Society (FWBBS) as they discussed a number of challenges and concerns that they were currently facing, as well as exciting solutions that their group are planning to implement.
There was a beautiful new sign that was painted by one of the local artisans that greeted us on the road down to the beach. It was a busy Monday at the beach with beachgoers and vendors. There were also a number of stray dogs, this was an issue that FWBBS identified. One of the concerns was that many of the dogs, some with mange, were following tourists to the beach and then creating a nuisance for other beachgoers. Many tourists did not seem to understand that others did not want the dogs on the beach and the impact that they had on sanitation and public health. FWBBS are implementing a number of upgrades to the beach, including rainwater harvesting, the use of solar power and plastic bottle community recycling.
JET continues to be committed to working with our Big Up Wi Beach community partners. We look forward to visiting our five other beach partners once restrictions on public gatherings associated with covid-19 have been lifted.
