Clear blue skies and sunny conditions after recent cyclone activity gave a great kick-start to the first of 2021’s quarterly clean-ups at Cape Kimberley Beach.
In late January 19 motivated locals from the Daintree, Port Douglas and Cairns regions came together to clean-up Cape Kimberley Beach, situated on the traditional lands of the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people. A massive thanks again to local Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation Rangers who came along to share their passion and knowledge of saltwater country.
Two main teams formed to clean sandy stretches close to base-camp in the north, and the 3km stretch towards the southernmost end. Teams scoured the vegetation to find hidden debris and removed a total haul of 145.5kg and 22.25 bags – all by hand and hard work!
The highest count for any item was 1,567 hard plastic remnants, followed closely by 1,541 plastic lids & bottle tops, and 347 foam insulation & packaging pieces.
Among the usual debris were plastic wristbands which had washed up all the way from Cairns. Foreign items included plastic bottles and also some yellow plastic chicken trays from Papua New Guinea (Zenag).
The long day wrapped up once materials were sorted, and all rubbish bagged for later collection by Queensland Parks and Wildlife Services. Special mention to the guys who helped load and wheel the trolley over and over again to the car park!
This event was funded by the Australian Government’s Reef Trust. We thank all our amazing volunteers and local Jabalbina Rangers for all their hard work and dedication!