A hundred volunteers gathered on the Ancão peninsula, also known as the island of Faro, about half a ton of waste in the lagoon and coastal areas, in an action that took place over 21 days of July.
The Association for the Study and Conservation of the Oceans (AECO), which organized the initiative, reveals that the half ton was "made up mostly of abandoned fishing gear, cigarette butts, disposable plastic packaging, aluminum cans, but also bottles and even glass vials'.
These cleaning campaigns are carried out annually by the association as part of its Ria+ project and have benefited different areas of the Ria Formosa Natural Park.
«Since our main objective with this project is to contribute to the enhancement of the Natural Park, we have been working in different areas such as the islands of Culatra or Barreta, but we also try every year to integrate conservation actions with others to raise awareness. and improvement of collective equipment», said Ricardo Barradas president of the association.
An example of this is «the paintings we started in 2021 and finished now to give more color to the nautical center of Praia de Faro», he added.
The balance of these actions culminates in a reflection on activities that could be included in the intervention next year. “It was very shocking to hear about the fires that happened here before we arrived. When they took us there I was very impressed, it's very sad everything burned. My colleagues and I would love to come back next year to help clean and reforest this area», says Margaux, one of the volunteers.
AECO has had the support of groups of international scouts who travel to Portugal to participate in the Ria+ project.
Alongside these international associations, the Municipality of Faro, through the Nautical Center and the Praia de Faro, the Ria Formosa Natural Park, AIPAR – Association for the Protection of Girls and Family, and the Red Seagull association.
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