Students from Loulé Secondary School and João de Deus Secondary School (Faro) helped to clean up Ilha da Culatra, as part of an environmental volunteer initiative, which took place yesterday, the 17th, on this barrier island in the municipality of Faro.
In addition to collecting litter from the dunes, the students carried out water quality analyses, "checking the biodiversity of marine macroinvertebrates", according to the teachers involved in the initiative.
The young people also verified “the existence of microplastics in marine ecosystems” and removed “weeping”, “an invasive species that spreads and destroys the ecosystem of the Algarve's dunes”.
“In the end, the students felt that they had a much better understanding of what each of us, as an inhabitant of the region, has to do to better preserve the ecosystems of the Algarve coast”, they add.
The action was coordinated by the Portuguese Environment Agency, with logistical support in terms of transport from the Municipal Councils of Faro and Loulé. In this particular initiative, it also had the support of Europe Direct Algarve in terms of its activities.
The teachers consider that these actions promoted by the Portuguese Environment Agency, within the scope of the Environmental Volunteering for Water, «are fundamental for the formation of more enlightened citizens who know what, individually, each one of us can, as an individual, to do to generate a better future».
Photos: Alexandre Costa | ES João de Deus
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