This February, the PROMAR Project in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) held two Beach Clean-Up activities, bringing together community members, students, and conservation organizations to protect the territory's coastline. In total, over 524 kg of waste and fishing gear were collected.

Brandywine Bay — 21 February 2026

The first activity took place at Brandywine Bay, welcoming 56 participants under the banner of "Protect Our Seas", among them 46 students, 6 adults, and 4 outreach officers. The group collected 25 bags of recyclables (~45.6 kg) and 7 bags of residual waste (~25.4 kg), keeping a combined total of ~71 kg of materials away from the sea.

A highlight of the day came when one student discovered a hermit crab trapped inside a discarded bottle, a vivid reminder of the real impact that litter has on marine life and coastal ecosystems!

Little Camanoe — 24 February 2026

The second clean-up was conducted at Little Camanoe Island on 24 February, in partnership with Beyond The Reef, a BVI-based marine conservation non-profit organization. This collaboration allowed the PROMAR Project to reach outer islands that Green VI cannot access alone.

In total, 10 participants from both organizations spent 4.5 hours cleaning a 250-metre stretch of beach, collecting over 453 kg of plastics and lost fishing gear, including a semi-buried 200 kg fishing net.

The removal of Ghost Gear, abandoned, lost, or discarded fishing equipment, is a key focus of these outer island clean-ups, where open ocean waste frequently washes ashore. Whenever possible, Beyond The Reef recovers fishing nets for recycling abroad, and has previously supported local designers in creating jewellery from Abandoned, Lost, and Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG). The net recovered at Little Camanoe will be donated to a local school, where it will be repurposed as a fence for their sports ground.