Several cleanups were conducted and signs installed on Frigate Island by Sustainable Grenadines Inc, with funding from the SVG Environment Fund and Ocean Conservancy.
Frigate Island lies on the southwest tip of Union Island.
These signs include a ‘welcome to Frigate Island’ sign, which gives visitors a brief history of the area, a ‘biodiversity’ sign, that shows some of the islands flora and fauna and a ‘trash awareness’ sign, depicting the current garbage situation on Frigate Island and what should be done to help with the situation.
By erecting the signs, SusGren hopes to raise public awareness about the area’s importance.
Additionally, 22 bags of trash were retrieved and removed from the island during the cleanup.
Frigate Island was initially separated by water but later joined by a meandering man-made causeway during the Ashton Marina Project in 1994.
The Island is a Wildlife Reserve (under the Wildlife Act) and a National Trust property; it was also declared an Important Bird Area by Birdlife International, and it falls under the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) category IV protection.
However, over the years the area has been plagued with garbage which fostered invasive species such as rats that can be detrimental to birds and other wildlife whose habitats are disturbed.
