Throughout the year, local beaches undergo essential maintenance and cleaning to preserve the coastline and marine environment. To reinforce these efforts, the Mijas Environment Department organises awareness-raising initiatives in partnership with local action group Creamar Mijas, part of the Aula del Mar Mediterráneo Foundation environmental volunteering platform in Málaga. On Friday 17th, around 15 volunteers from Mijas collected waste from Royal Beach in Calahonda, combing the area for litter, plastics, and glass bottles.
Any adult living near the target beaches can join these teams following a selection process. Volunteers receive training, equipment and insurance to carry out monitoring, clean-up operations, and environmental reporting. Working closely with local authorities and official coastal surveillance services, the initiative also responds quickly to pollution incidents, marine wildlife sightings and strandings, nesting events, reforestation, habitat restoration, and environmental education, among other matters.
The councillor for the Environment at the Mijas Town Hall, Marco Cortés (PP), highlighted the importance of raising awareness among beachgoers so they do not leave litter on the sand, which frequently ends up in the sea. According to the councillor, beneath the waters off Mijas’ coastline lie Posidonia seagrass beds that are vital for biodiversity, where many marine species come to feed as they pass along the Mijas coast; this is why it is so important to look after them and keep them healthy. The snorkelling team from Diving with Nic, which collaborates on these activities by cleaning and monitoring the seabed, was unable to dive due to sea conditions, but will be running an interpretative snorkelling session to raise awareness of the marine wealth of our coastline.
The department thanked these volunteers for their participation, as well as the Royal Beach beach bar, which helped out by providing refreshments. Clean-up work using machinery is continuing, but the help of these volunteers completes the care of our coastline and demonstrates a commitment to the environment in Mijas.
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