The Mojácar Rey Alabez Secondary Education Institute, together with 10 other provincial educational centres, has recently participated in a pilot marine rubbish research programme, “MI PLAYA BONICA”, promoted by Objetivo Newen, in collaboration with the University of Almería.
Marine rubbish is today considered one of the biggest environmental problems worldwide, with complex action and very serious consequences, both for marine ecosystems and for the linked socio-economic activities of man.
Mojácar Council, through the Education Councillor Ana García, has wanted to back comprehensive policies of mitigation, conservation, outreach and research policies, mainly among the locality’s youngest.
“We are committed to holistic and cross-sectional management for the conservation of our coastal ecosystems, ecosystems providing us with so many services and on which both our state of well-being and our economy directly depend,” councillor Ana García affirms.
MI PLAYA BONICA is a comprehensive management programme for coastal ecosystems which is structured around two principal lines of action. A first point is decontamination in the summer season, when users of our beaches actively take part in the cleaning. This is a high-impact activity, where active participation is around 100 people, and in which Mojácar volunteers have also participated. This activity involves the cleaning and conservation of the natural space, as well as the environmental education, outreach and awareness-raising of the citizenry.
A second block of investigation, in which pupils from the Rey Alabez Secondary Education Centre have participated, has analysed the residues extracted on the cleaning day.
This is a pilot programme, together with the University of Almería and Objetivo Newen to give participation and a voice to local young people about the municipality’s environmental problems and to offer them the opportunity to take part in the proposal of policies of conservation and management of the coastal ecosystems as a final and main goal of the research project.
For the Local Council Education Councillor Ana García, education is established as a priority and the main axis of the municipality’s policies.
“Our young people must be involved in the conservation of our municipality through research and education.”
All efforts are few for the correct management of our coastal area, the Education Councillor points out. The decontamination of marine rubbish, the conservation of our natural spaces, education, outreach and investigation, all for the improvement of our environment, our coast and our municipality.
