Cleaning Great Head Bay on the Arnos Vale coast is a waste of time unless the rest of the nation practices cleanliness and avoids dumping their garbage indiscriminately in the hillside communities.

This is the view of life long resident of Great Head Bay Clara Wallace, who said that she is usually amazed when she sees what is washed down onto the beach when the river comes down during a heavy shower.{{more}}

“When you see galvanize and all the other stuff that comes down in the river you can’t help but wonder if

people stop to think about what they are doing,” Wallace said.

The Ministry of National Mobilization has marshaled tremendous support over the last three weeks to clean up the beach which has become increasingly deplorable over the years.

Wallace herself a pig farmer will also have her pens relocated as part of the beautification process, and efforts are already being made to have this done. Fishing boats that dock on the beach would also be moved higher up to facilitate the widening and grading of the beach.

Minister Mike Browne told SEARCHLIGHT that while he doesn’t expect Great Head Bay to ever become a popular bathing spot he believes that the area could become a recreational spot, a good venue for beach sporting events when the whole vision is realized.

“It doesn’t look that way now, but the beach is very wide and when the clean up is finished the next step is to grade it properly, and beautify it, I think it has a lot of potential,” Minister Browne said.

When SEARCHLIGHT visited the clean up exercise, six garbage skips were filled with garbage resulting from six hours of work by volunteers and six persons attached to the Youth Empowerment Service (YES) programme.

Minister Browne told SEARCHLIGHT that one of his goals is to see the return of the birds that in the past frequented the streams (Mermaid streams) in the area.

“I believe if the place is cleaned up that the birds could return,” he said. He added that with toilet facilities and regular, fortnightly clean up efforts that the beach could be teeming with activities in the future.

Minister Browne said that the Great Head beach clean up is just part of an ongoing programme to clean up areas that have become eye sores, which also encouraged unsavory activities.

“What you see in these areas is not just about the areas but rather the dehumanization of people,” he said.

If more “holes” are beautified unwanted elements like drug dens would be discouraged. Those activities thrive on the unattractiveness of these areas, Minister Browne believes.

Great Head Bay was at one time regarded as a hot spot for drug addicts.

Meanwhile Wallace is looking forward to the Minister’s dream being fulfilled and told SEARCHLIGHT that she remembered times when many sports were played there.

Another resident told SEARCHLIGHT that besides the garbage situation during the rainy season, that the coming of the gas companies in the area affected the environment and the atmosphere. He wondered if any resurrection could take place in Great Head Bay but agreed with Minister Browne that there was potential to be explored.