Members of Youth Action Cayman, a student-run environmental group, were up early on Sunday, 1 March, clearing trash from the Barkers wilderness area in West Bay.
From 8:30-11am, the teenagers combed the shoreline, gathering plastic bottles, old shoes and fragments of plastic and other debris that had washed ashore on the beach and in the mangroves.
Barkers, known for its windswept natural beauty, is also a magnet for marine litter.
“Barkers is a really nice area, and it is a shame to see it get so dirty so quickly all the time,” said student volunteer Tomasz Krupiniewicz. “I brought a suitcase scale to weigh the trash bags, so we know exactly how much garbage we collect.”
He added, “I am really happy with the turnout. We have 15 members who came out today.”
The organisation was founded in April 2025 by a small group of high school students, including Yusef Khan. “We have expanded a lot since the organisation first formed,” he said. “It is a completely student-led organisation, there are no teachers, no adult supervision, so I am happy that all these students had the initiative to show up today.”
Kahn’s father, Rafat, explained that the group operates as a pure democracy, with no formal leaders. “In recent months, members have paddled kayaks to a small island off South Sound where they collected six bags of plastic waste, they also cleared the litter from a woodland area near the South Sound boardwalk.”
“It’s great to know young people are doing something like this rather than spending all their time on a smartphone or video games,” said one parent who initially contacted the Compass about the group and their efforts to make Cayman cleaner.
In January, the Youth Action Cayman group pledged to pick up one pound of trash for every new Instagram follower gained during the month. They attracted 137 new followers and met the challenge.
Youth Action Cayman currently has 43 members across six schools.
Related Videos
