Volunteers pose after cleaning the mangrove forests at the Purple Island in Al Thakira.
Doha: Over 175 volunteer families and children took part in an initiative to clean one of Qatar’s most valued natural and historical heritage sites – the mangrove forests at the Purple Island in Al Thakira.
“This is A Flower Each Spring’s 2nd beach cleanup for the 22nd edition of the program. We had the American Girl Scouts camped at our campsite; the girls were very eager, the scout leaders practiced what they preached, and the families were very committed,” said Fatma Hassan, event/school coordinator at A Flower Each Spring (FES) and program coordinator of Friends of Nature (FON).
“We thank our co-host AquaSports for accommodating the rest of the participants who attended the beach cleanup and give the event an AquaSports twist. And it is always an honour working with DEAP, they are very dedicated to their mission and Qatar’s environmental prosperity. It’s always wonder to see people with a common goal come together at the end and celebrate what they have achieved as a unity. It was a beautiful success, we are very proud of the outcome,” said Fatma Hassan
The commendable environmental event was organised by Doha Environmental Actions Project (DEAP) and FON and hosted in two different campsites, one side of the Purple Island by AquaSports, Qatar’s leading watersports and nature tourism company, and the opposite side of the purple island by FES, a program publicising local floral and other environmental aspects for community awareness since 1999. Valued support was also provided by the local Baladiya.
Mohamed El Azab, Operations & Branding Manager of AquaSports said: “The mangrove forests of Al Thakira around Purple Island (Bin Ghanim Island) are a protected natural site and home to a wide variety of wild birds and sea life including flamingos, herons, as well as the endangered grey mangrove. Grey mangroves are hugely important to habitat preservation for many animals but they are also very susceptible to pollution and changes to local conditions.”
Purple Island is also a location of significant historical interest. The name Purple Island is derived from the dye produced in ancient times from the shells of a local mollusk. This purple dye was much prized by royalty and wealthy across the region and as far as the Roman Empire.
Jose Saucedo, Director of DEAP, said: “We are very happy to be back in Purple Island. It is an incredible beautiful place in Qatar that is home to many species of birds and marine life. We are very grateful to A Flower Each spring, Friends of Nature and Aquasports, as well as to the American Girl Scouts, and all the incredible volunteers that were part of today’s clean-up for supporting our efforts. It takes a village to #keeepqatarclean.”
The clean-up was very successful – over 1,000kg of dangerous and polluting refuse was collected including old tyres, plastic bags, and fishing lines and sharp metal objects. At the end of the day the Baladiya removed all the collected matter for safe disposal and the natural habitat was a safer and cleaner place for humans and animals alike.
