Qatari company Peninsula Compass Tourism’s premier brand 365 Adventures Qatar has announced it will run a kayak trip every Thursday through Al Thakhira Mangroves on a cleanup mission.
“We decided to launch the new initiative, after completing the Purple Island cleanup on September 18, along with the help of Seashore Recycling Group," 365 Adventures co-founder and managing partner Mohamed Meraj said in a statement.
Being one of the 'first and highest rated' companies on TripAdvisor in Qatar, 365 Adventures has a local base camp launch point next to Al Thakhira Mangroves Forest facing the Purple Island (also known as Jazirat Ben Ghannam), taking tours of groups of expat residents and tourists visiting Qatar.
This base camp which was initially used for kayaking and overnight camping is slowly gearing up to lay the foundation to the upcoming eco-lodge project with outdoor education programmes for students in Qatar and lodging facilities built on 100% renewable or sustainable resources, according to the statement.
The mangrove forest in Al Thakhira, is known to be the largest of its kind in Qatar and about 24sqkm. The forest in general is preserved by the Department of Nature Reserves under the Ministry of Municipality and Environment.
The proposed cleanup itinerary will follow the same route, with customers given a bag per kayak to collect trash from the mangroves. Ehteraz app health status to be green is mandatory. Hand sanitisers are provided. The company sanitises all equipment on a regular basis, in addition to maintaining social distancing, the statement added.