Autumn Beach Cleanup and Ocean Protection in Formosa

By Formosa News Team (Originally in Chinese)

Supporting the “Clean Up the World Weekend,” global effort, the Bureau of Environmental Protection of Keelung City in Formosa, conducted a 2018 “Hands” Protecting the Ocean and Autumn Beach Cleanup activity on September 15, 2018. The Bureau of Environmental Protection hoped to bring more people’s attention to the protection of our precious coastal environment. With love for the Earth and for all living beings, The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association in Keelung, called on members to participate in this beach cleanup activity.

On the day of the cleanup, due to the impact of the recent typhoon Mangkhut, there were strong winds accompanied by bursts of heavy rainfall. Wearing light raincoats, our Association members picked up rubbish along the break water slope and the beach. Together with other charity groups, there were about 500 volunteers. We picked up plastic bags, plastic bottles, glass jars, dried branches, bottle caps and other rubbish along the Waimushan and Jingshui’ao’s seashore. After intensive efforts, a scenic, pristine beach was restored to Formosa’s north shore!

The Director General of the Bureau of Environmental Protection of Keelung City, Mr. Lai Huan-Hong, gave a speech and thanked the volunteers from 13 loving groups for their enthusiastic participation in the beach-cleanup activities. The esteemed Director General also presented two plaques to our International Association: one to thank our Association for participating in this autumn beach cleanup activity, and the other one for our excellent performance in carrying out Keelung City’s call for coastal cleaning and maintenance.

On September 29, Association members from Tainan Center also enthusiastically participated in beach cleanup activities organized by the Environmental Protection Bureau of Tainan City. For more than 20 years, the Tainan Center has been involved in this beach-cleanup service on the southwestern coast.

In the early morning of that day, about 1,000 volunteers including, individual citizens, employees from many companies and organizations, and our Association members, worked together as one, to pick up bamboo rafts, tree trunks, Styrofoam and other rubbish along the coast of Anping District of Tainan City, then sorted them. The beach cleaning activity ended near noon time. Since 2015, Tainan City Environmental Protection Bureau has generously provided vegetarian meals to all event participating members. Significantly, this symbolic gesture exemplifies the need for sustainability in environmental care as well as protecting our animal friends and the Earth. 

After the beach cleanup, the golden coast of Tainan was once again restored to a beautiful and clean appearance, allowing every visitor to experience the charming scenery of the area.

Keelung

Tainan