About Us
Beach Clean up Initiative
The Beach Clean-Up Project is a remarkable environmental initiative spearheaded by the Tiwi Turtle Police in collaboration with the local community and volunteer tourists. This project seeks to protect the pristine coastal environment of Tiwi and ensure the safety of the endangered sea turtles that frequent the beaches.
Tiwi Turtle Police is a local conservation group dedicated to safeguarding sea turtles and their nesting habitats. Recognizing that pollution, particularly plastic waste, poses a significant threat to marine life, the group launched this clean-up initiative. The aim is not only to reduce the amount of litter that washes ashore but also to raise awareness about environmental sustainability and the need to protect marine ecosystems.
The Community and Tourists play a crucial role in this effort. By volunteering, both locals and visitors alike come together to remove plastic waste, discarded fishing nets, and other harmful debris from the beaches. These clean-up events create a sense of shared responsibility and foster a spirit of environmental stewardship among participants. Tourists who join the project gain a meaningful experience, going beyond typical vacation activities to contribute positively to the region they are visiting.
Through this collaborative approach, the **Beach Clean-Up Project** has a broader impact, ensuring cleaner beaches and a safer nesting ground for turtles. It also serves as an educational platform, teaching both the community and visitors about the importance of preserving marine habitats and how their collective actions can make a difference. The efforts of the Tiwi Turtle Police and the volunteers have significantly reduced beach litter and created a cleaner, healthier environment for both the turtles and the local population.
What we have achieved
Since the start of the project in 2020 until November 2022, we have recorded a total of 211 nests along our 12-kilometer conservation site. We have also collected more than 2 tonnes of beach waste, which included single-use plastics, clothing materials, hard plastics, and flip-flops, among other non-biodegradable wastes. We were able to tag three Green Sea turtles with satellite transmitters in 2022, allowing us to track their migratory and foraging patterns. In 2022, we also conducted an in-water survey and photo ID for sea turtles to aid in the creation of a sea turtle face ID database. This year we had the first cohort of seven interns drawn from Kenyan institutions of higher learning, including Pwani University (5), Technical University of Mombasa (1) and Kenya Wildlife Service Research and Training Institution (1).
Interested in what we do?
We offer volunteer program for visitors, tourists and local community who are interested in what we do. Join us today and lets make a difference together.