130 bags of trash collected, over 100 corals planted
As part of LaBoracay festivities that included hosting #GlobeSunkissed party at White House, Station 1 in Boracay, Globe Telecom spearheaded the Boracay beach clean-up to ensure that the country’s favourite summer getaway is back to its pristine condition even after a major event participated in by over 60,000 local and foreign tourists.
LaBoracay is a Labor Day Weekend celebration where the world-class tourist destination becomes one big party venue with numerous companies and establishments offering non-stop entertainment to attract the vacationing crowd.
“Our employees, partners, and clients have come together to mitigate the impact of the weekend activities on the beach of Boracay. While giving local customers and tourists the best weekend party at LaBoracay, we also exerted effort to ensure we don’t compromise the natural beauty of the island,” said Yoly Crisanto, Globe Senior Vice President for Corporate Communications.
In anticipation of the big volume of trash that is often left behind after huge gatherings, Globe organized a team of volunteers to scour White Beach, Station 1 every morning at 7-9 amfrom April 29 to May 1 to rid the area of garbage. If not collected properly, this may cause health and environmental problems to the community.
The 46 volunteers include Globe employees, media partners, Solid Waste Management team of Malay local government, and representatives from Cambridge University Press. Together, they collected empty bottles, plastic containers, cigarette butts, and biodegradables which were segregated accordingly. A total of 130 bags full of trash were collected after three days. In parallel, some volunteers also designed new trash drums decorated with water-based paint which were left as donation to Sea Wind and White House resorts.
Apart from the beach clean-up activity, 25 Globe executives and guests also participated in the planting of coral fragments in nursery rafts provided by Boracay Foundation, Inc (BFI). The corals will later on be transferred to BFI’s identified underwater nurseries. BFI is a non-profit, non-stock association aimed at sustaining the island’s environmental, business, and social needs. The activity aims to raise awareness and educate the public, especially those visiting the island, on the importance of coral transplantation. This is one way to help ensure marine life biodiversity, environment conservation and sustainable eco-tourism.
Since 2012, Globe has been actively helping Boracay with its environmental initiatives such as marine life protection, offshore clean-up training, support for conservation efforts by local stakeholders, and raising environmental awareness among the youth and local residents.
