On Saturday, August 6, more than 50 people from Melekeok, including students, parents, and community members, gathered together to pick up trash from Bkul a Chelechol, a beach on the northern end of the state before Ngiwal.
Usually, coastal cleanups occur in this stretch of beach two to three times a year in collaboration with various other partners. During past school years, students from Melekeok Elementary School have conducted regular cleanups as part of their activities for the Non-Communicable Disease Fund. The amount of plastic and marine debris that washes onto this pristine shore has continued to increase during this same period. Although the group worked for half the morning, they were not able to collect trash all along the beach because they quickly filled all of their 70 trash bags, totalling almost 1,400 pounds or 0.7 tons.
The coastal clean-up is the latest in a series of events by the Ngardok 25th Anniversary Organizing Committee, in partnership with the Ngardok Reserve Board, Melekeok Conservation Network, Melekeok State, and Melekeok leaders and community, to celebrate the 25th year since the establishment of Ngardok Lake as a protected area and nature reserve.
For more information about Ngardok Nature Reserve, please contact MCN Coordinator Dearlynn Rebluud, at dearlynnrebluud@gmail.com; msgconservationnetwork@gmail.com; or visit Melekeok Conservation Network on Facebook and @ngardok_mcn on Instagram.