OVER the weekend, Kensington Hotel Saipan invited tourists to participate in its “beach plogging.”
“Plogging,” a Swedish portmanteau for “Plockka upp” (“to pick up”) and “jogga” (to jog), is an organized activity in the Scandinavian country, which has now spread to other countries. It refers to the act of picking up litter while jogging.
On Friday morning, about 20 of the hotel’s customers and 20 of its employees gathered to plog and prevent litter from flowing into the ocean.
The employees are no strangers to volunteer beach cleanups, but doing it with hotel guests was a first for them.
The guests who participated in the volunteer activity included four members of professional cheerleading squads of the Korea Baseball Organization league, Kiryang Park, Jihyun An, Umji Lee, and Danbi Lee.
The cheerleaders led the group in a stretching exercise at the beachfront before plogging.
They cleaned along the shore of Paupau Beach as well as around Paupau Beach Park, a course of about 1.5 kilometers.
“We hope for this to be a frequent ritual. Tourists these days don’t just want simple sightseeing; they want more interactive and meaningful experiences. They also care about the sustainability of the destination they visit. We are glad that we could provide an opportunity for them to truly appreciate the beauty of Saipan’s beaches and be part of protecting them,” said Lindsay Ahn, E-Land Group CSR manager.
For more on Kensington Hotel Saipan, visit https://www.kensingtonsaipan.com
Kensington Hotel Saipan employees and guests pose for a photo following a beach cleanup on Friday, May 20.