Big goals for eco-clean

(CNS): As the Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce gears up for is 12th annual roadside and beach cleanup to commemorate Earth Day it said that so far 1,300 people have volunteered to participate but it hopes the finally tally will be 2,000 on Saturday, 25 April between Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac. “The support from our Members this year is extremely encouraging. I believe the community is realizing that the Environmental issues are not going to go away and we must all pull together to reduce our eco footprint,” said Wil Pineau, CCE, Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Commerce. (Left Barrie Quappe cleaning up on last year’s Earth Day)

Starting at 7 am 27 local firms have offered sponsor ship including Barclays Private Bank & Trust the Chamber’s official t-shirt sponsor and British Caymanian this year’s brunch sponsor. The first 1,000 volunteers will receive an official Earth Day T-Shirt and all volunteers will get a reusable shopping bag courtesy of the Chamber of Commerce and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, latex gloves, and garbage bags donated by GEL Distributors.

The Chamber Cleanup Crews are invited to bring their beach gear and relax after their morning of hard work at West Bay Road Public Beach to enjoy the complimentary brunch and planned activities which includes a “Green Generation” Fair.

Partnering with the Department of Environment to host it the Chamber said the fair will showcase the rapidly growing green sector that has been established on the Cayman Islands. “This is the first time in the history of the Chamber that an event such as this has been organised. The Chamber continues to keep a focus on the environment and we hope that by holding this Fair it will bring greater awareness of the need for all of us to keep environmental protection, preservation and conservation in the forefront of our minds,” said Pineau.

The concept fits well with this year’s international Earth Day theme of the “Green Generation” which is based around the principles of encouraging individuals to commit to responsible, sustainable consumption, and of creating a low carbon, green economy that will provide good quality, “green-collar” jobs. This is a great opportunity to make people aware of the environmentally friendly products and services that are already available on-island as well as the environmental initiatives that have already been set up. The Chamber of Commerce and the DoE said, adding they believe this will give people more ideas for how they as individuals can actively help the environment in the Cayman Islands.

“For Earth Week the DoE will be promoting a suite of climate change educational materials, which have been created by the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) and UK Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) for the UK Overseas Territories, funded by the Overseas Territories Environment Program (OTEP) via the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the UK Department for International Development,” ,” said Sophie Halford from the DoE. “Leaflets from this series will be distributed at the fair, as these speak simply and directly about the science, evidence and causes of climate change, its potential impacts in the Overseas Territories, and the actions we can take to adapt to these impacts and to do our bit to combat the causes of climate change.”

Local businesses that provide environmentally conscious products and/or services, or that have environmental initiatives underway that others can learn from, are invited to participate and should contact Joanne Diaz-Berry at joanne.berry@caymanchamber.ky or Kennedy Powery at kennedy.powery@caymanchamber.ky by Wednesday, 22nd April. To register your cleanup team visit the Chamber website www.caymanchamber.ky