The Barbados Olympic Association Inc. (BOA) continued to advance its Sustainability Strategy and Policy under the theme “Play Green, Live Clean; It’s in Our Nature”, by leading a successful beach clean-up at Long Beach, Christ Church, on Saturday, September 20, to mark World Cleanup Day (WCD) and International Coastal Cleanup Day (ICCD).
Held in collaboration with the Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN), the beach clean-up forms part of the BOA’s efforts to position sport as a catalyst for environmental stewardship. The BOA has also taken a pioneering step in the Caribbean, signing on to the Sports for Climate Action Framework and becoming the first National Olympic Committee in the region to endorse the Sports for Nature Framework.
Dr Sasha Sutherland, BOA’s Sustainability Lead and main architect of the strategy, explained that the clean-up represents more than an environmental activity.
She stated, “It is a key expression of the BOA’s Sustainability Strategy, which recognises that sport has a responsibility to safeguard the communities and natural environments that support it. By engaging our national federations, partners, and international friends, we demonstrate that protecting our coastline is an act of national pride and global citizenship.”
Scores of volunteers collaborated to collect garbage from the beach, among them several national sports federations, including boxing, equestrian, squash, surfing, swimming, and table tennis. They joined forces with staff of the BOA and The Barbados Lottery, a long-time supporter and sponsor of the BOA, and members of the diplomatic corps representing Canada, Colombia, Cuba and Panama. Together, the group gathered approximately 30 bags of waste, weighing nearly 200 kilogrammes, from the coastline, making a tangible contribution to marine conservation.
As part of the clean-up, Dr Sutherland disclosed that 4.85 kilogrammes of plastic bottle caps were also collected and presented to Colombia’s Ambassador to Barbados, Her Excellency Elizabeth Taylor Joy, in support of a special sustainability project the Embassy is set to launch in October.
Reflecting on the day’s success, National Coordinator for CYEN Barbados, Sheldon Marshall, said the exercise underscored the power of collective action. “By uniting, we are sending a strong message that protecting our coasts is everyone’s responsibility. These kinds of collaborations not only clean up our beaches today but also build a culture of environmental stewardship for the future,” he said.
Through initiatives like the Long Beach clean-up and its Athlete Sustainability Ambassador Programme, the BOA is seeking to raise awareness, inspire action, and empower Barbados’ sporting community to adopt climate-conscious behaviours and practise environmental responsibility both on and off the field of play.