CAPE Town-based environmental awareness non-profit organisation, Save a Fishie, came down to Amanzimtoti for a beach clean-up on July 14 as part of its Coast 2 Coast campaign.

Also read: Tidy Towns Amanzimtoti transforms Beach Road

Save a Fishie was founded by 24-year-old, Zoë Prinsloo. Impressively, she is the world record holder for the longest beach clean-up, at a whopping 27 hours. In addition, she is a Mayors Medal for Conservation recipient and a Paul Harris Fellow.

The NPO focuses on beach clean-ups, spreading environmental awareness and education. This time around, it banded together with Sapphire Coast Tourism and Tidy Towns for a clean-up near the Amanzimtoti River Mouth.

“For our Coast 2 Coast campaign, we actually travel the whole coastline of South Africa doing beach clean-ups. So this week is our KZN stretch. We last cleaned up the coast of Amanzimtoti in 2023, so it’s quite nice to be back with the locals and tourism agencies, as they have shown us the spots that need attention. You can see it’s such a beautiful location, but it’s very unfortunate by the amount of litter that’s been washing and accumulating here,” said Prinsloo.

She added that it is wonderful to see the community show pride in its hometown by joining hands for such clean-ups. With around 30 volunteers, an impressive 184kg of litter was collected, bringing the Coast 2 Coast KZN total to 825kg. Prinsloo thanked the NPO’s national sponsors, including Polyco PRO NPC, TotalEnergies, Manhattan Sweets, Dove Cotton, Plastics|SA, Blue Ribbon Bread and Premier Hotels & Resorts.

“I did my first beach clean-up when I was 10, and I think at that age it was very difficult to understand and piece together why there was so much litter on the beach. I felt that beach clean-ups were a directly impactful way that I could make a difference. There are a lot more people who are in the same boat as me who understand the issue and want to do something to help but don’t know where to start. Save a Fishie for me is a sort of middle man to give people the guidance and how they can make a difference and inspire the next generation to take some pride in their environment,” said Prinsloo.

For more information about Save a Fishie, email info@saveafishie.co.za or contact Tanya Prinsloo on 084 591 0077.

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