Last weekend the team from Hideaway Beach Resort & Spa joined thousands of others around the world for the biggest community event on the planet aimed at removing rubbish from the environment, Clean Up the World.

Whilst taking part in a round-the-world race in 1987, an Australian yachtsman noticed the devastation that rubbish was causing the environment and gave him the inspiration to organise the very first event in 1989 that saw 40,000 people to help clean up Sydney Harbour. A year later 300,000 people took part all over Australia; the event has grown each year and about 35 million people now take part in this annual event. That’s an amazing amount of community spirit as well as an amazing amount of rubbish removed from the environment.

The Hideaway team cleaned the shoreline, shallows of the lagoon, and around vegetation on the island to remove any debris washed up by the ocean currents. Keeping the resort island pristine is an ongoing task so not too much was found and apart from a few plastic bottles, most other debris was of natural origin. We take pride in our surroundings at Hideaway but more importantly, we value nature and in order to protect the beautiful natural habitat of the islands and coral reefs upon which they are perched, it’s vital that we recognise the dangers that debris in the ocean can pose to delicate and vulnerable marine life. Plastic bags look uncannily like jellyfish when drifting in the ocean and unless we want to see turtles fatally injured due to ingesting them, they must be prevented from getting into the ocean in the first place, and any that do should be immediately removed. The abundant marine life of the Maldives can be seen while scuba diving and snorkelling and when you are amidst the beauty of the reefs you can’t help but feel thankful to the millions of people who join the quest to Clean Up the World, not just at the annual event, but each and every day.

We would like to thank all those who joined in with clean-up events across the globe, come and join us at Hideaway next time!