ABOUT THE CANARY ISLANDS
The Canary Islands of Spain are a group of islands located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Northwest Africa. They are formed by 8 islands, with Tenerife being the biggest one and the most popular owing to its active volcano: Teide. They are located on top of the African Plateau and belong to a natural region called Macaronesia. Due to the subtropical climate present, their incredible biodiversity and the stunning geographical features, the Canary Islands have four national parks, numerous biosphere reserves and five world heritage sites from UNESCO. These natural attractions make the Canary Islands one of the most touristic destinations in Europe.
Our local BlueCommunities partners are PRECIOUS PLASTIC GRAN CANARIA and CANARIAS LIBRE DE PLÁSTICOS. They are non-profits who take action to prevent ecosystem damage and they educate about sustainable practices together with the community.
LOCAL GOALS
UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
SOCIOS LOCALES
PRECIOUS PLASTIC is a global movement that works towards the reduction of plastic pollution through the implementation of a circular economy approach and the development of recycling initiatives. Precious Plastic Gran Canaria was founded in 2018 with the idea of combining both creativity and engineering solutions to turn discarded plastic into new resources, and thus giving a second life to materials like bottle lids or pens that otherwise would end up in landfills. Their founders decided to establish the organization as a result of a deep concern on the terrible state of the environment in the Canary Islands.
CANARIAS LIBRE DE PLÁSTICOS was founded in 2018 with the goal of reducing the impact of plastic pollution in the ocean, and soon became one of the biggest organizations fighting against plastic pollution in Spain. The mission of the organization is clear: to promote sustainable behaviours in our daily lives. The goals of the Canaria Libre de Plasticos are to share the incredible biodiversity of the ocean and to show the importance of this ecosystem, as well as supporting the work of the scientific community in regards to the issue of plastic pollution in the ocean. Their areas of work involved beach clean ups and workshops.
Tamaragua
Is an environmental activity that aims to raise awareness of the issue of microplastics, both in nature and in our daily lives. The project is divided in two parts: a virtual workshop focused on the issue of microplastics and a beach clean up to monitor the amount of microplastics, a result that will be then used by the scientific community in the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to study the presence of these microplastics on the Canary Islands coastline. Each volunteer will receive a Tamaragua Kit, a tool used to collect microplastics and that is produced with 100% recycled plastic. The goal of this project is to leave the shore better than how we found it.
Beach Cleanups
The main activity of the organization is to run clean ups in the Canary Islands, mostly in Tenerife and Gran Canaria. Over the last 3 years, the association has organised more than 60 clean ups with hundreds of volunteers.
Workshops with schools
The organisation also run plenty of workshops in schools. Over the last 3 years, they have organised more than 750 workshops in schools and educated more than 3.000 kids and teenagers.