Simultaneous Beach Clean-up Held for the Oki Islands’ 10th Anniversary as a Global Geopark! (September 10)

To commemorate the certification of the Oki Islands as a Global Geopark area in September 2013, the geopark held a symposium in Okinoshima Town on September 9 and a beach clean-up in the four municipalities on the following day of September 10. 

We would like to thank everyone who came to the symposium, workshops, and clean-up activities! 

What follows are pictures from the day of the clean-ups, which we will use to look back on how the day went! 

September 10 (Sunday) Clean-up snapshots 

Beach clean-ups around the four municipalities of Okinoshima Town, Ama Town, Nishinoshima Town, and Chibu Village were coordinated to occur around the same time. 

Despite the lingering summer heat, there were about 20 participants in Ama Town, 25 participants in Nishinoshima Town, 25 participants in Chibu Village, and 70 participants in Okinoshima Town. 

Ama Town 

Mr. Fukaya from the NPO Oki Shizenmura explained to participants the area’s importance, the Sea of Japan and funagoya boat houses, and the dangers of plastic trash. Participants cleaned up from the coast to around the road near terrestrial groves. There were about 20 participants. Plastic trash weighed in at a total of 10.15 kg. 

Nishinoshima Town 

Around 25 people gathered to clean up around the scenic Kuniga Beach area. 

Chibu Village 

About 25 people participated and received easy-to-understand tour guide information about the area from Mr. Fukuda, an Oki Shizenmura employee, and support from municipal hall employees, making this event enjoyable. A little under 6.5 kg in PET plastic bottles was collected.   

Okinoshima Town 

With the objective of “reducing marine debris by becoming more conscious of the fact that marine debris does not just come from overseas but includes a large number of plastic bottles we throw into our own rivers,” PET plastic bottles were collected and weighed. Around 100 bags of PET plastic bottles were collected in Okinoshima Town, totaling 139 kg in weight.

That is all for the September 10 report. 

In October, there will also be an Oki Islands Global Geopark certification anniversary event. We look forward to your continued participation!