Abu Dhabi’s Sustainable Community Has You Join Kayaking Cleanups to Save the Environment
Kayak clean up: the clean up efforts by kayak” – editor’s note Kayaking cleanups are becoming increasingly well known as an unorthodox, but also utterly effective alternative for ridding our environments of trash. The Sustainable Community Abu Dhabi has led the charge, consistently arranging kayak cleanups to guard the emirate’s mangrove forests, islands and waters. Removing more than 400Kg of litter, this is a serious bunch of locals looking after Abu Dhabi’s aesthetics.
What was the Sustainable Community Abu Dhabi? 
The Sustainable Community Abu Dhabi was established in June 2022, by Natalia Sobko, who began by a small beach cleanup that was attended by 17 participants on Reem Island. The group’s focus is to promote a culture of environmental sustainability and at the same time to take visible action by contributing to the maintenance of the natural spaces of this area. Today, the community has more than 1,300 members on Facebook, who frequently take part in clearing dangerous litter from Abu Dhabi’s water and land.
Kayaking Cleanups: An Unusual Way to Collect Garbage
These kayaking cleanups, which are organized by the Sustainable Community Abu Dhabi, see people paddle in the mangroves and other coastal areas to pick up rubbish. The approach of recruiting volunteers to access such hard to reach places opens up locations that would otherwise be left in squalor. The volunteers have to painstakingly sort and log all the waste they pick up using apps such as Clean Swell and Sahim, once they return from their clean up effort.
The Effect of Kayak Clean-Ups in Abu Dhabi’s Mangroves
Abu Dhabi’s Mangroves are crucial to the eco-diversity, acting as a natural filter for the water and home to much wildlife. But pollution remains a problem and there are plastic bags, bottles and even larger items, such as construction materials and car seats, in the water. And they maintain the sense of oddball discovery of place: Volunteers like Silvia Cinciripini report finding strange waste, from carpets to car seats, and say that the sight of kayakers is still enough to keep areas clean of trash.
Sustainable Community Abu Dhabi also sets up other green events, such as farm visits, art sessions, and green picnics. Not only do such projects contribute to environmental conservation, they also create a sense of community around the topic, helping like-minded strangers bond over exercising their common goals of a guilt-free planet.
Get involved in kayaking clean-ups and other eco-friendly initiatives that make a real difference to safeguarding Abu Dhabi’s beautiful natural areas. Whether newly arrived or a long-term resident, commitment to the Sustainable Community Abu Dhabi provides an opportunity to be part of a cleaner, greener future.
