Several management and staff of the Princess Juliana International Airport, SXM, were among the volunteers who participated in a recent clean up of the Simpson Bay Lagoon.

The Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (VROMI) organized the clean up, in collaboration with the St. Maarten Marine Trades Association and the Nature Foundation, in the wake of Hurricane Gonzalo, which left a trail of ship wrecks in the lagoon.

“Following shortly after our meeting with the Simpson Bay Community Council, we could not but answer the call by Minister of VROMI, Maurice Lake, for volunteers to help clean up the lagoon,” said Regina LaBega, SXM Managing Director.

LaBega participated in the early morning clean up with about 15 members of the airport’s management team and staff. The SXM team was divided into three groups each covering a different area of the lagoon.

SXM also provided 50-gallon garbage bags, rubber gloves, and bottled water for all of the volunteers that participated in the clean up. “You don’t have to live or work in the Simpson Bay area to participate in such a campaign because at the end of the day, it is our island that we’re keeping clean,” LaBega said. The front of SXM Airport faces the picturesque and historic lagoon.

The SXM team was very enthusiastic and happy to participate in keeping the Simpson Bay Lagoon clean, said LaBega, adding: “I want to thank all the SXM management and staff who turned out voluntarily to participate in the clean up.”

“We take environmental issues very seriously and it is gratifying to note that employees were concerned enough about such issues to volunteer their Saturday morning for this community effort,” the managing director said SXM would continue to partner with other stakeholders in similar initiatives whenever the need arises.