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Group photo of participants

of the beach cleaning activity

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Students clean up the rubbish

littering the beach

In order to enhance the public’s awareness of the importance of natural environment protection and resource conservation, the University of Macau’s (UM) Honours College Student Association (HCSA) organized a beach cleaning activity at the Hac Sa Beach in Coloane on 26 February 2012. More than twenty students divided into small groups picked up rubbish littering the beach, their enthusiasm not one bit dampened by the drizzle. After several hours of work, a few big bags of rubbish were collected, and the beach became much cleaner.

The theme of the activity was “Kiss Our Nature”. HCSA hoped the activity could help enhance the public’s awareness of the importance of protecting the natural environment of the city.

Participants said that the Hac Sa Beach is a famous beauty spot in Macao that has drawn a lot of local residents and tourists alike for its beautiful sunshine, fresh air, and various water sports. However, the rubbish left behind by visitors not only detracts from the spot’s beauty, but also pollutes the environment and the coastal ecosystems, and we humans, as a part of living system on this planet, have the responsibility to protect the spot’s beauty. HCSA members hope to hold more similar activities in the future to continue to spread the messages of environmental protection.

UM’s HCSA organizes a number of community services every year, and participants come from different faculties, majors and years of study. The beach cleaning activity was the second community service held in this year. Over the past years, HCSA has organized visits to the elderly homes, children’s centres, senior citizens who live alone, and so on. Examples include S. Francis Xavier Home for the Aged, Betania Elderly Home, the Dawn Centre of the Macau Association of Parents of Mentally Handicapped, Peng On Tung Tele-assistance Center, Ieng Hong Elderly Home and the ECF Orphanage of the Grace Community Chapel.