A bit of community action by Salt-Gallery.com. This event is free and open to the public- and may many follow! What could be better than a Sunday morning of 1) environmental improvements 2) light refreshments 3) cultural pre-Colombian immersion 4) swimming. For those of you in the neighborhood, please come down and join us on the 28th at Columbus Landing. Here’s the press release regarding the Salt-Gallery.com beach clean that went out to the St. Croix Avis, the Virgin Islands Daily News, and the St. Croix Source today:
For Immediate Release September 15, 2008
Contact: Tomas Lanner director@salt-gallery.com
Phone: 340-514-6664
Salt-Gallery.com to clean Columbus Landing as part of Ocean Conservancy’s Coastweeks
From 9 am to Noon on September 28, 2008, St. Croix based Salt-Gallery.com, will organize a beach clean at Columbus Landing & Lagoon, followed by a short walk at 12.30 pm of the Taino ball court, guided by Brian Updike, our favorite Pre-Columbian scholar and Salt River kayak-man.
The beach cleanup, organized by Salt-Gallery.com is a part of the Coastweeks effort starting September 20, spearheaded nationally by the Ocean Conservancy. ‘We should be encouraging a sensible disposal of our waste. Instead, we leave it behind on our beaches.’ says Tomas Lanner, founder of Salt-Gallery.com, a local art agency consisting of an online digital gallery and brokerage. Lanner would like to encourage other small business owners to promote a change in our community’s attitude towards trash. Salt-Gallery.com is also involved in a collaboration with Walsh Metal Works Gallery and UK underwater sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor to establish a creative artificial reef in the waters of St. Croix.
The debris that is picked up is counted and put into categories, so each participant will have a data card and make note of what they find. The information gathered during Coastweeks provides a picture of what debris lands on the territory’s beaches and, in many cases, where it originates. ‘Since people were responsible for the beach debris in the first place, it’s up to them to remove it’ says Marcia Taylor, St. Croix Coastweeks coordinator and marine advisor at the University of the Virgin Islands St. Croix campus. During Coastweeks cleanups, people scour the beaches for debris. Schools, groups and individuals participate.
Immediately after the 9 am-Noon beach clean on September 28, water & light refreshments will be available for beach cleaners as Brian Updike guides a short walk of the Taino ballcourt at 12.30 pm, also at Columbus Landing. Brian owns Virgin Kayak on St. Croix and is an avid enthusiast of pre-Columbian history.
Before you leave your house, make sure you wear a hat, bring a swimsuit, gloves, extra sunscreen & water and wear shoes suitable for a mild bush walk. So we can get a headcount for refreshments, contact Tomas Lanner 340-514-6664 or director@salt-gallery.com if you intend to help on September 28.
For more general information on Coastweeks, go to the St. Croix Source article.
The territory-wide event is supported by Friends of the Park, UVI’s Marine Advisory Service, the Planning and Natural Resources Department’s Coastal Zone Management Program, the Ocean Conservancy and the V.I. Waste Management Authority. If you have further questions about the Coastweeks effort, or to volunteer, call Kristin Maize at 779-4940 on St. John, Marcia Taylor at 692-4046 on St. Croix or Lihla Noori at 693-1392 on St. Thomas.
