Friends of the Beach Group develops environmental preservation actions in Ilhéus
The non-governmental organization operates in the southern region of the state of Bahia and works to care for the region's beaches through educational and cleaning actions
Credit: Social Networks of the Friends of the Beach Group
By: Gabriel Murga – Lupa do Bem / Favela em Pauta
The Group of Friends of the Beach (GAP), is a non-governmental organization that operates in the city of Ilhéus, the city in the state of Bahia with the largest coastline. The project arose in 2018, from the mobilization of a group of neighbors in the face of the garbage accumulated on the Avenida beach, in the center of the city.
In February 2018, in meetings that took place at Rui Barbosa Square, the group established the weekly commitment to clean the beaches, in order to contribute permanently to the preservation of the environment and the beauty of the city’s greatest potential, its exuberant nature. Currently, 55 tons of garbage have already been removed from the beaches of Ilhéus thanks to these campaigns.
Ilhéus is located about 450 kilometers from the capital of Bahia, and is part of the Brazilian imagination through the works of writer Jorge Amado, where beaches are often the setting where the plots are developed. In order to keep telling new stories on the sands of the beaches of the “Little Princess of the South”, the group has carried out more than a hundred environmental actions in the last four years.
The GAP has carried out environmental education actions, as well as beach clean-up campaigns and planting of seedlings. The group has also acted in several relevant moments of environmental crises, such as recently in the chemical waste spill that affected a large part of the northeastern region’s coastline in 2020.
The group has the GAP Seal of Sustainability, created to ensure good practices in the disposal of solid waste generated in the Cocoa Coast region. The seal can be obtained by companies, events, brands, residences and condominiums. The initiative was developed in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a plan developed by the United Nations Program.
Planting of Trees and Maintenance of Permanent Protection Areas
On the last day of the earth, GAP carried out the fourth community effort in the Permanent Protection Area of the São Miguel neighborhood, with the participation of volunteer residents and the team that makes up the project.
In the action, about 70 fruit and forest tree seedlings native to the Atlantic Forest were planted, such as ipê, jacarandá, pau-brasil, guava, cajá, banana, tangerine, graviola, avocado, and ingá. The goal is to reforest the area with about 2000 trees.
According to the agronomist engineer and volunteer from the Group of Friends of the Beach (GAP), João Paulo, responsible for planting the seedlings, the current project is concentrated in the Permanent Preservation Area (APP) of the São Miguel district, located in the northern part of Ilhéus, at the mouth of the Almada River.
The area is 122,000 square meters in size, and of this total it is necessary to reforest and recover a stretch of 22,000 square meters that is completely degraded, due to natural weather conditions and misuse by the population for irregular waste disposal.
Since September 2021, about 700 seedlings have already been planted, in an agroforestry system format, to diversify the production of fruit and favor the supply of quality environmental services, such as increased pollination, water cycling, and soil nutrients.
Community gardens: organic food for economically vulnerable people
In May 2020, GAP implemented the community garden of the Outeiro neighborhood, located on the outskirts of the historic center of Ilheus, in order to provide organic food to families who have experienced economic vulnerability due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Today, the community garden has a total area of approximately 497 square meters, where vegetables such as lettuce, cabbage, basil, and also tubers such as carrots and beets, as well as non-conventional food plants (PANCS) and medicinal plants are grown.
The project provided for the restoration and better use of a vacant lot, benefiting all the residents with the supply of food, in addition to providing development opportunities for people, with exchanges of knowledge and experiences. The proposal is to transform the initiative into a school garden for the students of Ilhéus, as an educational resource.
“There are several benefits that this type of project can provide. Through the garden it is possible to work on reality and bring students closer to issues that are part of the social environment, such as the concern with natural resources. In this sense, environmental education is one of the main axes that can be worked on through this methodology,” explains agronomist João Paulo, one of the creators of the project.
Composta Ilhéus works to serve about 500 families
GAP’s “Composta Ilhéus” is a pioneering environmental project in Bahia that aims to divert 90 tons of solid waste from the municipal landfill by 2022, by donating 500 compost bins to families in the urban area, impacting 2,500 people directly.
Last May 7, the closing date of the International Week of Awareness for Composting, the GAP concluded the first stage of the project, with a public action to deliver 33 more kits, containing buckets and worm compost to start the practice of transforming solid waste into organic fertilizer.
According to the agronomist and coordinator of the initiative, Dávila Maria, the goal is to serve about 500 families in the urban area of Ilhéus. Since February of this year, when it started, more than 300 home compost bins have already been delivered.
While the delivery of the home compost bins is being concluded, the GAP is starting to involve schools and restaurants in the city, which will receive larger compost bins to execute the second phase of the project. The proposal is to integrate the Outeiro community garden with school gardens, as is already happening at the Heitor Dias Municipal School. The bio-fertilizers produced by the home compost bins will be destined to these gardens, whose production will benefit educational communities.
The founder of Composta Ilhéus, Jurema Cintra, a lawyer and GAP volunteer, created the project based on her personal practices aimed at reducing solid waste.
“I’ve been composting for 17 years, I’m a lover of this practice and I use several techniques. Every time I posted on my social networks friends would ask a thousand questions about it. After joining GAP, I started questioning my own consumption relationships and discovered zero waste practices. Composting then needed to be more efficient. I set up my worm farm with reused margarine buckets and started,” she says.
How to support and follow the GAP?
As explained by the treasurer of GAP, Jurema Cintra, those interested can participate in person in the actions that usually happen every Saturday on the beaches of Ilheus and can also follow the actions on Instagram and Twitter.
In addition, it is possible to support the GAP by Pix 33013795/0001-21 or PayPal by e-mail gapilheus@gmail.com. All funds are earmarked for conservation actions of coastal and marine biodiversity.
