On September 19, 2026, more than 25 youth and local community volunteers gathered at Spencer’s Bay Wetlands to honor International Coastal Cleanup Day with a targeted waste removal effort, pulling a total of 462.80 pounds of discarded trash from the ecologically vital wetland and coastal habitats of Antigua and Barbuda.
Organized and led by the IHO Nature Rangers and Volunteer Litter Prevention Wardens, the event drew widespread participation and collaborative support from a diverse array of local and regional stakeholders, including JCI Antigua, Antigua Cruise Ports, the EcoShores Sustainable Futures Network (ESFN), the Community Policing Division of the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda, the Antigua and Barbuda Girl Guides Association, and the Antigua and Barbuda branch of the Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN).
Beyond just removing accumulated debris from the region’s shorelines and adjacent land areas, the event was designed to help participating volunteers build firsthand understanding of the range of waste materials that threaten sensitive wetland ecosystems. The haul of collected trash included large discarded items such as four old televisions and full pieces of luggage, alongside smaller common pollutants including glass fragments, single-use plastic bottles, petroleum containers, automotive parts, disposable packaging, and a wide variety of other improperly disposed consumer goods.
Volunteers implemented a rigorous data collection process, weighing every bag of collected waste individually to ensure an accurate total waste volume calculation. The four large televisions recovered from the wetland were assessed separately, with their estimated weights added to the final total. The wide variety of waste types recovered during the cleanup underscores the ongoing challenge of unregulated trash accumulation in already vulnerable coastal and wetland environments, where discarded materials disrupt native wildlife habitats and degrade water quality over time.
To ensure responsible handling of the collected waste, event organizers coordinated in advance with the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), which arranged for full removal and proper disposal of all debris at the region’s official landfill.
Following the hands-on cleanup activity, participants joined an interactive educational session led by the EcoShores Sustainable Futures Network. The session connected the day’s on-the-ground conservation work to broader conversations about long-term environmental stewardship, the critical ecological role of wetlands, systemic improvements to regional waste management, and the power of collective community action to drive lasting change.
As a gesture of gratitude for their time and effort, all participating community members were provided with a complimentary breakfast from Blow Way Bakery, a local food business based in Pigotts.
Saturday’s event is just one component of the IHO Nature Rangers’ ongoing long-term initiative to expand conservation action and boost youth engagement in protection of the North East Marine Management Area (NEMMA). The organization has already led similar community cleanup efforts in Parham, Seatons, and Glanvilles, with local youth and resident volunteers consistently turning out to address littering and preserve irreplaceable coastal habitats across the region.
Britney McDonald, Project Manager for the IHO Nature Rangers, emphasized the collective impact of the cross-sector collaboration in a post-event statement. “Saturday’s cleanup proved what we can achieve when young people, community members, local organizations, and institutional partners all come together around a shared responsibility to protect our natural spaces,” McDonald said. “Removing 462.80 pounds of waste from these wetlands and coastal spaces is a meaningful win, but it also makes clear that we have to keep building public awareness, stopping waste at its source, and investing in the local people who are on the ground taking action to protect these critical ecosystems.”
Looking ahead, the IHO Nature Rangers and its partner network are already planning the next phase of regional conservation work, including upcoming mangrove replanting initiatives, ongoing environmental education programming, continued community outreach, and additional habitat restoration projects. On September 26, 2026, the organization will partner with EcoShores Sustainable Futures Network to support ESFN’s Do it Twice Campaign for McKinnons Wetlands.
The coalition is actively seeking additional partnership support to expand the scope and reach of these ongoing conservation activities. Organizations, local businesses, and individual community members interested in volunteering, sponsoring, or supporting upcoming cleanups, educational sessions, restoration projects, and other conservation efforts are encouraged to reach out to get involved.
The Spencer’s Bay cleanup is part of the larger “Strengthening Conservation Actions in the North East Management Area, Antigua and Barbuda” project, led by the IHO Nature Rangers. The initiative receives funding from the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund and the World Bank, with implementation support from the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute, alongside core partners Integrated Health Outreach and EcoShores Sustainable Futures Network.
For media inquiries or additional information about the project, interested parties can contact Project Manager Britney McDonald at (268) 785-5169.