Beach Grass-Cutting Clean-Up! Okinawa Children Restore White Sandy Beaches for Marine Litter Zero Week

Over 50 local residents participated in the event, joined by 9 goats raised in the area acting as 'special volunteers' to assist with the grass-cutting tasks. Children raced barefoot across the sandy beach against the goats, gathering grass and making the clean-up activity full of laughter.

When people think of Okinawa, many envision white sandy beaches. However, in recent years, natural coastlines have become scarce in Okinawa due to development, coastal maintenance, and the abnormal proliferation of invasive plant species. A natural beach, where many living creatures interact to maintain ecological balance, is a precious treasure of the Earth, just like a forest.

Uza Beach is one of the rare natural coastlines in Yomitan.

This clean-up activity also served as an initiative for local children and students to experience the wonders of local nature that are gradually being lost. One participant remarked, 'Touching the sand feels great. I didn't know that weeding on the beach with my child could be this much fun. I want to come back.'

There was also a great deal of interaction among many participants across different nationalities and generations, making it an opportunity to realize that 'environmental protection starts with small actions.' A total of 5 light truckloads (approximately 800kg) of plants, mainly invasive species covering the beach, were removed, with a portion given as a 'treat' to the participating goats.

Based in Yomitan, the marine conservation organization 'Chura-Mura' will continue to work with local communities to preserve natural beaches—where children play barefoot and which serve as homes for sea turtles and many other creatures—for the future.