Please be a volunteer or circulate electronically this volunteer poster and help us spread the word for the need of recycling volunteers!

Please contact Ashely at [email protected] to see how you can become a Saturday volunteer, we need you! Without volunteers like you this trial program can not continue.

 

Hours of operation are only on Saturday from 8 am to noon at the store’s designated site, under the tent.

 

Please use this symbol sorting guide prior to dropping off, NO  # 3, # 6 or # 7 plastics,

 

No lids or bottle caps on the items. You can place them in the bag but not on the items.

 

Containers must be empty, clean and/ or rinsed.

 

Use a clear ( preferred) or white bag to place the items in prior to dropping off your sorted plastics.

 

Thank you Plaza Extra, Tutu for ensuring that these sorted plastic items are then crushed then sent off island to be recycled, your generosity to the community is greatly appreciated! 

 

Download the recycling symbol flyer!to keep!

 

Download the Flyer!

Our beaches are some of our most important assets and natural treasures. Magens Bay is famous as being listed on National Geographic’s list of the top 10 beaches in the world. Recently, another poll by Yahoo! Travel and National Geographic Traveler magazine listed St. Thomas and St. John beaches in the top 10 of favorite beaches in the United States (see August 14, 2003 St. Thomas Source© article).

Help use protect these valuable natural treasures of the Virgin Islands by following the recommendations listed below:

Use of beaches:
Many of our beaches are turtle nesting areas. Please do not disturb any nests found.

Dogs should be on a leash. Note: Dogs are not allowed on V.I. National Park Beaches.

Respect others rights and safety and sanitation needs “poop and scoop.”

“Take only pictures, Leave only footprints”: Please don’t leave any trash or debris on the beach – use trash cans or dumpsters, if available, or pack out your refuse.

Don’t drive on the beach — cars, trucks and other vehicles can leak harmful fluids like gas & oil that pollute the water and kill birds & sea creatures.

Don’t fuel jet skis in the water — gas can leak or spill and contaminate the water, harming sea life. Please fuel your recreational equipment at home.

Enjoy yourself!

Long viewed by developers as a wasted areas to be dredged or filled, mangrove swamps and lagoons are an essential component to the food chain and to human life. Many of the juvenile fish and other sea creatures who feed on coral and algae live in the shelter of mangrove roots.

Mangrove root systems also filter storm water runoff, allowing sediment and other pollutants to be removed before entering open water. The sediment can otherwise cover and kill coral reef colonies. The run-off can be high in organic material, such as leaves from the forests. The decaying trapped organics provides nutrients for the various life forms in the mangrove swamps.

Mangrove areas also protect shorelines from erosion by waves and storms.

Many species of birds live in and around mangroves to feed on the insects breeding in the shallow waters or the small creatures living in the water or sediment.

The Red Mangrove species can be found growing in the clear water along shorelines, first in from the ocean. These are the mangroves that have ‘prop’ roots. Black Mangroves grow slightly further inland, in the shallow muddy areas of lagoons and salt ponds. These mangroves are noted for their ‘snorkel’ roots, which stick up out of the mud to collect oxygen. White Mangroves are found further inland, in saline ground where it is only slightly muddy. Buttonwood is a mangrove found last in succession inland, on drier saline soil.

Corals reefs and sea grass beds are an essential component to the food chain and to human life. Coral and algae live together in reef colonies providing food source for marine organisms. Sea grass beds stabilize shallow, sandy bottoms, providing habitat for juvenile fish and shellfish, and the primary food source for our endangered turtle species.

A Coral reef consists of colonies of very small animals which often take hundreds of years to form the structures we see today as the coral reef to explore. The sea fans which are soft corals are often mistaken for plants, take many years to even grow a few inches.

Just touching corals to see what they feel like, can kill an entire colony. Oils from your skin can disturb the delicate mucous membranes which protect the animals from disease. A snorkler or divers fins can accidentally hit and break off coral colonies. Standing on coral to adjust a mask can do significant damage to a colony.

Boat anchors should be placed in sandy bottom areas to avoid dredging up vast areas of corals or sea grass. Make sure the anchor rode will swing clear of any coral heads or sea grasses. The best practice is to use one of the many moorings provided by the National Park Service or the Reef foundation.