G3 Conservation Corps begins work on mural in East Hagatña

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A vandalized wall across the East Hagåtña beachfront received a much-needed redo thanks to the efforts of the Guam Green Growth (G3) Conservation Corps.

Armed with buckets of paint and paint materials, the G3 Conservation Corps on Friday, June 25, started a project to create a mural with the theme, “Life Below Water.” The theme is in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal No. 14 — which is to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development.

The G3 Conservation Corps members just finished a beach cleanup between the Alupang Beach Tower and Paseo area before starting on the mural project.

Lt. Governor Josh Tenorio visited the site to see the G3 Conservation Corps in action. He said it is gratifying to see the team engaged in these activities. He described the program as a good recruitment tool to identify change agents in the community.

“They are addressing a lot of areas that have long been forgotten — in some cases, the government has been able to keep up with what’s happening out there, and I think there is also that research element here because we are identifying all these different areas. It causes us to understand why things have developed this way. When we see illegal dumpsites — what kind of policy and what kind of enforcement can we do to try and change that habit but more importantly, having people to take action and be visible while taking action, I think is truly inspiring,” Tenorio said.

Tenorio said he looks forward to the different projects that would be coming along in the next few months.

From June to November 2021, the G3 Conservation Corps members will participate in workforce development training and activities focused on island beautification, circular economy and recycling, invasive species removal, energy efficiency, and agriculture and aquaculture.

Dr. Austin Shelton, Director of the University of Guam Center for Island Sustainability, said the two program activities for Day 3 — the beach cleanup and mural painting — culminated the islandwide celebration of World Ocean Month.

“We are excited about the outreach and engagement that we will have with these two activities highlighting World Ocean’s Month with the Guam Green Growth Conservation Corps to promote healthy coastal ecosystems here for our island, so that our people can continue using, recreating, and enjoining our beaches, and harvesting an important food fish that we have here in East Hagåtña, which is the mañahak. You’ll see a little bit of that in the mural over here along the beach side,” Shelton said.

Alana Chargualaf, a Conservation Corps member, participated in both the beach cleanup and mural painting. Chargualaf shared her thoughts about the G3 initiative. “So far the experience has been really great. It’s really positive. We all know that we are contributing to something positive for the island of Guam, for the community, for the environment. And even though we are just starting out with a lot of cleaning and beautification, that is something that really benefits our island. We get to clean up spaces. Our communities will feel a lot better where they are and have a greater sense of pride.”

The G3 Conservation Corps program is made possible through the Recycling Revolving Fund following approval from the Guam Environmental Protection Agency Board of Directors. The program is aligned with the current islandwide efforts to achieve sustainability and other UN Sustainable Development Goals.

WHAT IS G3?

Aligned with the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, the Guam Green Growth Initiative or G3 cultivates an ecosystem for transformative action to achieve a sustainable, prosperous, and equitable future for our island. UOG facilitates the island-wide initiative in cooperation with the Office of the Governor of Guam and the 99 members of the G3 Working Group representing all sectors of our society.

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