Volunteers Unite at Walsingham Nature Reserve for a Major Shoreline and Woodland Clean-Up

A community effort to protect one of Bermuda's most beloved nature reserves, joined by the Governor himself and forming part of a landmark Commonwealth Clean Oceans Plastics Campaign to collect one million pieces of plastic before the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Tucked into the eastern parishes of Bermuda, the Walsingham Nature Reserve is one of the island's most ecologically significant habitats, home to Tom Moore's Jungle, the iconic Blue Hole, and some of the last remaining endemic woodland in Bermuda. This week, volunteers from across the island came together for a four-hour clean-up of the reserve's trails, shoreline, and mangrove forest, in a collaborative event that brought community, conservation, and civic pride into one morning.

This event was part of the Royal Commonwealth Society's Clean Oceans Plastics Campaign, a global initiative with a bold target: to collect one million pieces of plastic across Commonwealth nations before the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games. Every piece picked up in Bermuda counts toward that total.

A community clean-up with real impact

The event was coordinated the Walsingham Trust with support from the Bermuda Olympic Association (BOA), alongside members of the public passionate about keeping Bermuda's green spaces pristine. Participants gathered from noon at the Tom Moore's Tavern entrance on Walsingham Lane, off Harrington Sound Road in Hamilton Parish, just a short walk from the Blue Hole Park car park.

Clean-up groups rotated across the reserve throughout the afternoon, tackling litter, marine debris, and invasive material along the pathways and coast of the reserve. Plastic accumulates in remote parts of the reserve, including swimming grottoes and sea caves, where inaccessibility made regular cleaning difficult, prompting volunteers to target these areas. Volunteers from the Walsingham Trust and Keep Bermuda Beautiful, a local environmental charity, were joined by the Governor of Bermuda, Andrew Murdoch, along with local MPs, to lend their support to this grassroots conservation effort, a testament to the significance of protecting Walsingham Nature Reserve for future generations.

Andrew Murdoch, Governor of Bermuda jumps into the water to retrieve an abandoned tyre

Bermuda's contribution at Walsingham Nature Reserve adds to that collective total, and events like this demonstrate that small island communities can punch well above their weight when it comes to environmental action.

Get involved in the Commonwealth Clean Oceans Plastics Campaign

Events like this are only possible because of passionate volunteers willing to give their time to protect Bermuda's natural heritage. With the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games on the horizon, communities from across the Commonwealth are mobilising to remove plastic waste from local environments. Whether you are interested in shoreline clean-ups, woodland restoration, endemic species preservation, or contributing to the Commonwealth Clean Oceans Plastics Campaign’s one million plastic pieces goal before Glasgow 2026, there are opportunities to get involved throughout the year.

Together, we can pick up one million pieces of plastic before Glasgow 2026.