Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts across the Caribbean showcased their commitment to environmental conservation by organising coral restoration projects in celebration of Earth Day on Wednesday, April 22.
At all resorts throughout the Caribbean, the Sandals and Beaches AquaCenter teams arranged special dives today to raise awareness on coral restoration, showing guests the difference between healthy coral and bleached, dying or dead coral, as well as reef clean-ups.
At Sandals Grande Antigua both guests and Sandals team members ventured to Sandy Island, off the west shore of Antigua, to clean up trash there. Guests also scuba-dived and cleaned up a nearby reef.
Thirty bags of garbage, primarily plastic bottles, were removed from Sandy Island and the reef.
“With this year’s Earth Day theme being “It’s Our Turn To Lead,” we call for the region’s stakeholders to take a stand towards preserving our marine ecosystems and our environment as a whole to ensure that future generations have a Caribbean to call home,” said Adam Stewart, president of the Sandals Foundation and chief executive officer of Sandals Resorts International.
Additionally, the Sandals Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Sandals Resorts International, pledged its support to coral restoration with projects valued at more than $45,000, which includes the establishment of coral nurseries in Jamaica.
By partnering with CARIBSAVE, the Coral Restoration Foundation, Bluefields Bay Fishermen’s Friendly Society and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, the Sandals Foundation aims to combat declining coral populations, 60 percent of which are threatened by overfishing, pollution and climate change.
Through the Sandals Foundation, Sandals Resorts rallies together not only for Earth Day, but throughout the entire year in honor of the company’s commitment to environmental preservation. To learn more about the Sandals Foundation, visit online at www.sandalsfoundation.org.