Dear Source:
Thanks to everyone that participated in the Mandahl Bay clean up on April 25th. It was an exceptionally well attended event with over 80 individuals and groups including the Friends of Mandahl, The Environmental Rangers, H.Y.P.E., I.E.K.H.S., Antilles School, Friends of Christmas Cove, S.T.E.E.R. (St. Thomas East End Reserves), V.I. Waste Management Saturday Program, E.A.S.T., D.F.W., Camp Umoja and Friends of Hull Bay.
The dumpster, generously donated by Peter Caproni of Y.E.S. was overflowing by noon. Most retired to the beach for lunch provided by Anna and Justin Francis and friends from Camp Umoja. We were so lucky to have plenty of cold water, juice and breakfast bars, generously provided by Sebastiano Paiewonsky Cassinelli and ice and water also provided by Mandahl Market. Thanks also to the many Friends of Mandahl who generously posted signs, brought water for hand washing, first aid kits, trucks to haul bags to the dumpster, as well as gloves and trash bags. It was gratifying to see the kids jump into kayaks provided by Camp Umoja after lunch and paddle around our precious Mandahl Salt Pond. Fun was had by all!
The Friends of Mandahl are 100% committed to keeping the beach clean and making sure that the area around and in the salt pond remains as clean and free of debris as possible. We are concerned for the wild life and plant life in the area and we are pleading to the public to refrain from using this area as a dumping place for a variety of unwanted items such as stoves, grills, tires, car parts as well as chemicals, plastics and bottles…just a few of the items we found last Saturday.
Two April weekends have seen very large clean-up efforts including The Bridge to NoWhere along with Mandahl Bay. We hope that these clean ups serve as an awareness that we do need to take better care of this island and start having some respect for all that it gives us on a daily basis.
Again, thanks to all for the generous support and so many helping hands that demonstrate that you care about keeping our islands green and clean!
Cara Hinton
St. Thomas
Editor's note: We welcome and encourage readers to keep the dialogue going by responding to Source commentary. Letters should be e-mailed with name and place of residence to visource@gmail.com.
