We won’t easily admit it, but as is the case for many people of African descent in the Caribbean, we are not all ocean lovers.
It is not difficult to find someone on island who has not had a sea bath in a year or two or ten. For whatever reason, they are not fans of getting their feet wet and enjoying our beaches. However, we all benefit from having our ocean remain as clean as possible.
Here are some ways you can save the ocean even if you are not a beachlover.
- Do not throw trash into the ghauts or on the roadside. All of our ghauts lead to the ocean so if they are filled with plastic bottles, styrofoam containers, straws, plastic bags and the like, when the rains come they are washed into the sea.
- Say no to the straws when you purchase drinks. It is a little thing but it cause so much injury to turtles and other creatures when they are ingested. You reduce the likelihood of this happening when you leave the straws in the shop or on the restaurant bar.
- Use canvas and other reusable bags for shopping. It takes a bit of practice to remember to put the bag back in the car for the next trip to the store, but once you do, it will get easier. Encourage your supermarket packer to use less bags when they are bagging your groceries. Ask if they have paper bags instead of plastic.
- Skip the plastic bag for your bread. In France, it is most common to see people walking with their bread stuck under their arm with nary a plastic bag in sight. Locally, bread is already packaged in plastic so there really isn’t a need for another bag to put it in. Say no thank you to excess plastic.
- Volunteer for clean ups. Local community groups and the companies which make a living from the ocean often organize beach clean ups. You won’t need to get in the sea but you will feel great about helping to pick up the trash which builds up at the base of the ghauts and on the seaside.
