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At 8:30 in the morning we went to get the children from the community basketball court in Akumal Pueblo and bring them to CEA. We divided the children into groups and talked to them about why we were all going to clean the beach, gave them big black garbage bags, and split them up among the three beaches of Akumal, from Yal-Ku to South Akumal. Tourists and locals also joined in the clean-up. We found all sorts of garbage along the shore, from the ubiquitous plastic, to flip-flops, syringes, bags of household trash, Styrofoam, fishing line, and even a huge length of rope used to moor ships.
After getting all the trash together to be either recycled or taken to the dump, the sand-carving contest began. The children worked to shape many forms of sea life, with the turtle the number one choice of subject. At the same time, other groups of children were in the CEA Center, busy participating in the Art contest, with the theme “Saving Turtles.” After both sand and drawing contests, the children went to the Plaza Ukana stage to see the “Friends of the Planet” puppet show put on by CEA. A toucan, crab, turtle and fish talk about the problems of so much trash in the sea and on the beach, and look for ways to get people to recycle instead of littering. Meanwhile, judges reviewed the sand carvings and drawings to determine first, second and third places in the contests. At the end of the puppet show, when all the audience screamed their support for the planet, Paul, the CEA director, presented the winners with their prizes. A few shy faces, lots of cheers and applause and some screaming, then everyone got back into the van to go home, hopefully, with greater awareness of having to keep our planet clean.
Sand Sculpture Contest
1. José Ricardo Cocom 12 years old
2. Didier Manuel Chan 10 years old
3. Silvia del Socorro Pineda 12 years old
Drawing Contest
Pre-school Category
1. Jessica Moreno 4 years old
2. Axel Giboulot 4 years old
Age 6-9 Category
1. Alix Giboulot 8 years old
2. Beatriz Socorro 9 years old
3. José Uriel y Salma 7 years old
Age 10 and Above Category
1. Ana Maria May, Ana Luisa Pineda y Araceli Ake 14 years old
2. Edith 11 years old
3. Lucely de Jesús 11 years old
Thanks to many local people and businesses we had water, ice, garbage bags, prizes and a bit of cash for expenses. CEA would like to thank the following businesses for their support:
Mini Super Las Palmas; La Buena Vida; Imelda’s Good Food; Restaurante Lol-Ha; Akumal Dive Shop; Hacienda de la Tortuga; Super Chomak; Turtle Bay Café and Bakery; Que Onda; Dive Center Akumal; Vista del Mar; Akumal Beach Resort; Mulgrew Lavanderia; Grupo Recicla; Hotel Villas Maya Akumal; Akumal Dive Adventures.
Click here to see more photos of Earth Day 2004
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