A video released this week highlights the efforts of dedicated community volunteers to clean up marine debris from the “forgotten shorelines” of the U.S. Virgin Islands’ (USVI) mangroves and offshore cays. These areas, rarely included in cleanups, face a persistent challenge with marine debris.
Thanks to funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Debris Program, the National Science Foundation, and other partners, and with leadership from the USVI Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) and the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI), volunteers have removed more than 16 tons of trash from these shorelines to date. Most of the trash is single-use plastic bottles that continue to litter these beautiful habitats year after year.
The video captures the vast scale of this issue. Dr. Kristin Wilson Grimes from UVI’s Center for Marine and Environmental Studies paints a vivid picture of the conditions. “Most people would be shocked to see what we see when we go out there. It is item after item after item. I can sit in one spot, within arm’s reach in every direction, for 15 or 20 minutes, without even moving, and I’m surrounded by a whole shoreline that looks like that.”
Zola Roper, Marine Debris Coordinator at DPNR and a UVI graduate, underscores the need to expand cleanup efforts beyond traditional beach areas, “Most cleanup efforts focus on coastal areas like beaches, and sometimes we forget our beautiful mangroves in the process.” She adds, “The Forgotten Shorelines Project, a partnership between DPNR and UVI, is really to target some of those coastal shoreline areas that aren’t usually gotten to during our citizen science cleanups.”
The video also highlights the impact of these cleanups on volunteers. Maleah Davis, a UVI nursing student, shares how cleanup events have changed her perspective: “Attending the cleanups has made me think a lot more about where my garbage goes. It’s made me realize that not everyone is careful with their garbage—including myself. It makes me more conscious of what I bring to the beach. So why bring a plastic bottle if I can just bring a reusable one, and it keeps my water cold?”
Beyond removing debris, the initiative collects critical data needed to drive policy changes. Roper emphasizes the importance of data in shaping policies and solutions: “When we talk about marine debris cleanups, the real information we gather is what affects change.” Dr. Grimes emphasizes the significance of tackling single-use plastics: “Every year, single-use beverage bottles are the number one item we remove from mangrove shorelines. If we were able to make personal decisions or have policy changes here in the U.S. Virgin Islands that would reduce this waste, that would have a huge difference in what we end up cleaning from mangrove shorelines year after year after year.”
The video, filmed and edited by Dan Mele, a Communication & Coral Restoration Specialist at UVI, captures the inspiring power of teamwork in tackling environmental challenges. It’s a call to action, reminding us that preserving the USVI’s coastlines and marine ecosystems demands persistence and collective effort.
The University hopes the video will help to amplify the impact of these cleanups by encouraging people to make responsible daily choices to cut down on single-use plastics and helping them to see that the future of our shorelines depends on those very decisions.
Want to Help Protect USVI’s Shorelines?
UVI invites Virgin Islanders to join the 2025 Great Mangrove Cleanups and become a part of the Territory’s marine debris solution while getting outside and earning community service hours.
Upcoming Events
Pre-registration link: https://www.viepscor.org/gmc-registration-2025
Check out the video and learn more about this inspiring initiative here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd4ARsAZxxM
For more information, contact pr@uvi.edu.
