Environmentalist Foundation of India conducts monthly or bi-monthly beach clean-ups. Unlike other groups, during the clean-up, they offer a 20-minute orientation session on waste management.
On 18th December, they conducted an event at Elliot's Beach, Besant Nagar near Ashtalakshmi Temple.
Currently they are working on lakes and other water bodies because the waste ends up there, going through stormwater drains.
Contact : 9600954609
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Chennai Tiruvallur District Fishermen Association, formed by five residents of North Chennai, focussing on clearing coastal areas of garbage pile-ups. In December 2017, they conducted what was called “Ocean Marathon” to draw attention to their work and increase their volunteer base. As part of this initiative, they cleared two tonnes of waste, including nylon and thermocol and 3000 bottles, from Kasimedu Beach.
Contact: 9940444007
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Bhumi , a non-profit organisation joins other NGOs and groups to clean Chennai’s beaches through the year.
Their events are strictly plastic-free; they use cloth gloves and props for their clean-ups. Water for the volunteers is provided in steel glasses and utensils. They also engage in night-time turtle walks during the Olive Ridley hatching season.
They have scheduled an event on January 21 along with Baywatch Residential Farm Association on the Vettuvankeni coastal stretch, near Palavakkam.
Contact: 9952038216
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Students Sea Turtle Conservation Network (SSTCN), Last year they conducted 5 beach clean-ups along with Chennai Trekking Club (CTC)
They are planning to conduct an event at the end of the month at Elliot's Beach, Besant Nagar.
The main focus of SSTCN is conservation of Olive Ridleys. And after the baby turtles have hatched, they clean the stretch to ensure the baby turtles don’t have a problem waddling their way into the sea.
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Chennai Beach Clean-up, Aakarshan Agre, a German and a lawyer by profession, is carrying out a beach clean-up on East Coast Road every Sunday along with her associate. A few other Germans are also engaging in beach clean-up activities with them.
“This is not a large-scale event. We are doing this to fight our own guilt because I am seeing it as my responsibility as well to keep the surroundings clean. We must not sit and wait for someone else to take action. Cleaning the ocean environment brings fresh air and seafood to us. We must create awareness on this', says Aakarshan. She added to that, 'we've talked with the fishermen and they agreed to help us in cleaning the beach'. They started a Facebook page called Chennai Beach Clean-up' and are posting their pictures and upcoming events on the same.
