Students and activists clean up Lake Pampulha in Belo Horizonte

​It was organised on the edge of Lake Pampulha in Belo Horizonte. Throughout the day, students and activists collected the garbage scattered around the lake. Clean Up Day, which has been taking place in Belo Horizonte since 2019, is a continuation of an initiative that began in March 2018 in France. As part of the first edition, HOPE students had cleaned up the La Gravette beach in Antibes.

This year, the volunteers filled seven bags with the garbage they picked up from the beach. Despite being a cultural and historical symbol of the city, Lake Pampulha is sometimes neglected. The two organizations have already organised two clean-up campaigns together and a day to raise awareness about children who need support.

"The issue of garbage disposal is serious"

The event aroused the interest of a resident of Belo Horizonte who was passing by. A professor of architecture and urbanism, she had experience with urban sustainability projects and recognised the importance of initiatives like this for the social and sustainable development of the city.

 For Marine Jeannon, an ambassador of Project Rescue Ocean Brasil, the mission of this activity is also to raise awareness. "The issue of garbage disposal is serious. We need to engage in an important discussion in society on how we preserve public spaces and recycle our waste," she says. Cannelle Draï, a SKEMA PGE student who was in charge of this edition, adds: "The cause defended by the association is important. I intend to do my best to unite students around the same goal and motivate them to go further."