More than 60 people joined us on Saturday, december 11th, at Arroyo San Miguel State Park, to collect 940 kilos of garbage and trash scattered around the park. This environmental action led by Pronatura Noroeste (PNO) was carried out with the support of the Dirección de Administración Urbana, Ecología y Medio Ambiente del XXIV Ayuntamiento de Ensenada, as well as several non-profit organizations, such as Tijuana’s KM1, Save The Waves, Selider, Agents of Change and Unidos por Ensenada. Personnel from the Ecological Police and the Ensenada Municipal Youth Institute also participate, as well as students from the UABC and personnel from the Federal Maritime Terrestrial Zone (ZOFEMAT). The attendees of this ecological brigade were distributed in teams to cover four sectors of the San Miguel creek bed and beach.
Prior to the start of the event, Oscar Quiñonez, Deputy Director of the Department of Ecology of the municipality, thanked all the assistants for supporting this action of environment and community benefit.
Abraham Garcia, member of the KM1 Association, emphasized the importance of caring for the ocean and explained the dynamics that would be followed for the recollection and, in some sections, the counting of waste. After an icebreaker activity, the ecological day began, in which the enthusiastic brigades, who were wearing a mask, used gloves, tweezers, shovels, sifters and sacks.
Lizz Gonzalez, PNO’s Conservation Education Coordinator, with the support of some interns, documented the waste collection, classification and counting on video, with the purpose of generating communication products to train environmental promoters and teachers on Mexico’s northwest area, to raise awareness among authorities and communities about the importance of keeping our seas clean.
In her statement, Araceli Bernal, PNO Communication Coordinator, spoke about the importance of caring for and preserving the recently decreed San Miguel State Park, in order to have decent public spaces to spend the day with family and friends, as well as to surf, walk among the trees or enjoy a sunset on the beach.
The residues that were mostly found were microplastics, foam articles, nails and cigarette butts, with a total of 266 objects collected on a 6 x 13 meters area. In the creek bed were found mostly plastic bottles and bags, as well as disposable items, foam products, clothes, glass, household garbage and Ensenada´s Toll-Road receipts.
At the end of the day, the municipal garbage collection team took the collected waste to the landfill. Although an important cleanup was achieved, we must remember that the problem is not solved here, since the collection of almost a ton of garbage and waste in just 1 out of the 67 hectares of this State Park, it is clear that much remains to be done to prevent people from throwing garbage in the streams and natural areas that we are all responsible for taking care of.
