In celebration of World Environment Day, Sterling One Foundation, alongside its partners, mobilized 270 volunteers to clean and restore Elegushi Beach in Lagos to its spotless state.
This annual event, led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and observed globally every June 5th, aims to raise awareness and prompt action to protect the environment.
This year’s theme was “Land Restoration, Desertification, and Drought Resilience.”
Despite the rain, volunteers, dressed in “Beach Clean-up” t-shirts and equipped with gloves and sanitation bags, worked with officials from the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) to clean the beach.
Speaking at the event, Olapeju Ibekwe, Chief Executive Officer of Sterling One Foundation, emphasized their commitment to not only advocate for environmental preservation but also to actively engage in initiatives such as the Beach Cleanups and Beach Adoption Project.
She said: “This initiative is being done across 20 states concurrently to commemorate the World Environment Day. It has been done since over a decade ago, we started it in 2013 and we are not about to stop. We will continue investing in various actions to protect the environment.
“This initiative here is to reduce the plastic wastes that are entering our oceans and causing hazardous wastes for human consumption of marine animals and seafood for those of us that like seafood. But beyond what we are doing at the beaches, we are also cleaning streets, investing in the recycling of waste and upcycling of waste across the country”.
“These are economic trees, nutritious trees that will be a source of nutrition for the students and each school has a minimum of 400 trees planted which can also be a source of economic resource over time when those trees eventually start fruiting”.
Ibekwe further said that these are a few of the investments we have made at Sterling One Foundation with our partners in the environment and we are going to do more. Together, we have come not just to clean the beach but to make a statement. We are declaring our commitment toward environmental sustainability and our desire to preserve the natural beauty of our environment”.
She said: “It is time for every one of us to take responsibility for every waste we are generating. Once you generate the waste, ensure it is properly disposed of. Interestingly, what we are doing now, we are intentional about sorting the waste, the biodegradable from the plastic.
In her words, the senior special assistant to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on the environment, Tari Taylaur, reiterated the commitment of the state toward a clean and sustainable environment to live in.
She noted that no matter the government’s investment in infrastructure and policies, if the people of Lagos are not participating actively in the policies and plans of the government towards our total well-being, then there will be a missing link. So, we all must play.
“Lagosians are the stewards of a clean Lagos. We must take care of our environment. We are determined to support them as we are compassionate about seeing our communities transformed”, she said.
She stressed that the cart pushing in Lagos remains illegal and the government will not condone or accommodate them in the state.
The Head of Business Retail, Mainland, Sterling Bank, Samuel Onosanya said that the activity was part of the bank’s commitment to giving back to the environment.
“We are a socially responsible organization and we are committed to promoting a healthy environment. This exercise has been done across 20 locations across the country”, he said.
