Grace Bay Beach gets Sandals Foundation clean-up

Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, October 5, 2023— TheGrace Bay Beach in Providenciales recently received a much-needed facelift when Sandals Foundation ambassadors and members of the Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) department from Beaches Turks and Caicos (BTC) cleared more than 250 pounds of garbage and discarded items from the beach to mark International Coastal Clean-Up Day (ICC).

“Our committed team members were delighted to help in providing some level of protection for the environment as well as protecting the pristine beauty of the shoreline and beaches here in the beautiful by nature, Turks and Caicos Islands”, shared Beaches Turks and Caicos Public Relations Manager Orville Morgan.  

The volunteers filled several bags with items washed ashore such as plastic and glass bottles, clothes, household items, and drink cans.

Morgan noted that the team did a detailed check of the beach, determined to remove even the smallest item of rubbish. The waste collected was properly sorted and then removed by the Grounds team. 

The Sandals Foundation commits itself to preserving the natural surroundings through projects in education, environment, and community.

“A lot of the waste have been washed up on our shores and being agents of change, as a resort we were happy to see how much our efforts were important in helping with the cleaning of our environment,” noted Shuntal Gibson, EHS Manager at theresort who led a team of volunteers out for the clean-up.

Sandals Foundation said the labour of love was a collaboration between three environmental groups at Beaches Turks and Caicos – the Beaches Public Relations Team, Earth Guardians, and the Sandals Foundation Ambassadors.

Through this annual event, the International Ocean Conservancy hopes to spread awareness and encourage everyone to stop trash at the source, a mission the Sandals Foundation fully supports.

General Manager James McAnally said the Sandals Foundation is cognisant of the fact that the beach is heavily patronised by members of the local community, “which is why we are so happy to be able to work with our team of volunteers to keep this particular beach clean”.

“It was really pleasing to see how much our efforts were important in helping with the cleaning of our environment,” said Jennie Parsons, one of the many volunteers from the resort who turned out for the clean-up.

To ensure long-term benefits, those who use the beach the most – area residents – were given tips on the role they can play maintain the environment.

“We educated residents who were there about the importance of keeping the beach clean and protecting our environment because if we don’t ensure that they understand the importance then the beach will be back in that deplorable state before we know it,” said Morgan.