“Reciclar é a Nossa Praia” is the Novo Verde campaign that is sensitizing the Portuguese to the pollution of the seas and oceans, through environmental education sessions and various educational activities, and which will end this Saturday, July 24th, on the beach of Monte Gordo, in Vila Real de Santo António.
This campaign began on June 21 at Vila Praia de Âncora beach, in Caminha, and has already covered 940 kilometers of Portuguese coastline, to make the Portuguese aware of the correct disposal of waste, in order to protect one of the most essential goods we have: the water.
before ending in Monte Gordo, the initiative “Reciclar é a Nossa Praia” was this Friday, July 23, at the beach of Faro, with a group of researchers from the Center for Marine Sciences (CCMAR) – University of Algarve.
The participation of CCMAR aims to raise awareness of two areas of research complementary to the study of the sea and marine resources, including the development of smart tags that inform consumers about the conditions of transport, packaging and exposure to which the fish was subject and, with that, help to fight one of the biggest problems that affect the population and the environment.
The environmental education and literacy sessions that have been taking place are made up of several recreational and educational activities, with a parallel beach cleaning activity to ensure the proper treatment of the various waste collected on the sand.
Along the way, the initiative had, on some beaches, the presence of personalities linked to the world of surf.
«This action intends, in addition to bringing us closer to the population, to continue environmental education, which has been one of our pillars since the beginning of Novo Verde. It is essential that we continue to mobilize citizens for an active participation in the process of treatment and recycling of waste that cannot, at all, be abandoned indiscriminately, which can contaminate ecosystems and our health and harm the Environment, of which we are a part", he says. Ricardo Neto, president of Novo Verde.
With a focus on packaging recycling in particular, the main objective has been «to emphasize that the seas and oceans are the destination of a large part of the waste that is not disposed of correctly, a reality that we want to combat, replacing it with adequate, simple, easy behavior and accessible to any citizen», he says.
In partnership with the non-profit association Sailors for the Sea Portugal, Novo Verde intends to «particularly impact younger people on the behaviors they should adopt, in order to prevent their packaging waste from contaminating marine ecosystems».
Bernardo Corrêa de Barros, president of this association, recognizes that «embracing the 'Recycling is our Beach' project represents an excellent opportunity as it will be possible to reach more children and young people so that they can be agents of change and change the sad reality that our ocean faces. Promoting a generation with greater awareness and capable of taking the most conscious measures is one of the main focuses of our mission».
“Through playful and educational activities, we will try to sow in each child the sense of responsibility that we all have a duty to assume for the protection of the ocean and marine resources”, concludes Bernardo Corrêa de Barros.
The Novo Verde initiative has the support of the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA).
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