Beach clean-up activist Zoë gets mayor’s medal
A 21-year-old Richwood woman who launched a non-profit organisation to keep our coastlines clean has received the Mayor’s Medal.
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis presented Zoë Prinsloo with the award at the City’s civic honours ceremony on Wednesday December 6.
Ms Prinsloo is the founder of Save A Fishie, and just two days after receiving her award for helping to keep west coast beaches clean, she was back at it again - this time holding a 27-hour beach clean-up at Milnerton Lagoon Beach in an effort to set a world record for the longest beach clean-up.
According to her, she and nine volunteers removed 663kg of litter from 10am on Friday December 8 to 1pm on Saturday December 9.
“It was all a huge success,” she said. “We worked through the cold, windy and rainy conditions, but it all worked out.”
Mr Hill-Lewis and ward councillor Fabian Ah-Sing had visited on the Saturday morning to lend a hand, she said.
Ms Prinsloo said she had come up with the idea for the record-setting beach clean-up earlier this year after realising no such record existed.
“So I decided to set one myself. I think we raised a lot of awareness around this event, and I'm hoping some people try to break it so we can break that record again next year. Aside from raising awareness, we got to give Milnerton Lagoon Beach a very good clean,” she said.
To date, Ms Prinsloo has run 250 beach clean-ups and collected 18 tons of rubbish on the shores around the city. Save A Fishie had its 100th clean-up last year (“Zoë celebrates 100th beach clean-up,” Tabletalk, September 21, 2022).
Earlier this year, Ms Prinsloo started the Coast to Coast project to clean beaches across the city, and she plans to run another campaign next year.
“I’m already looking to next year, and am proud to announce that I'll be embarking on Coast to Coast 2024. This year, we did 111 beaches in 70 days, but next year, now that we know where the problem beaches are, we'll be doing a slightly shorter trip but focusing on those problem areas and working with more schools and community groups,” she said
She invited corporates and anyone who would like to get involved to email info@saveafishie.co.za
