27,500 bottle caps and a message on climate action

3 minutos

This you have to see.

A Scout Leader in Coro, Venezuela led a project to build a beautiful “sustainable wall” out of… bottle caps!

This project brought fun and beauty to the city of Coro, while raising awareness for environmental conservation and plastic pollution.
Around 50 volunteers, including Daniela, helped cement 27,500 bottle caps to the wall to create this mural.

This is no small feat, Daniela Morales, 22 years old, had to work with multiple volunteers and partners to save 27,500 bottle caps from landfills and complete this beautification and awareness project.

The final mural is eye-catching, helping bring a spirit of action to protect the environment in a community near the ocean.
The final mural is eye-catching, helping bring a spirit of action to protect the environment in a community near the ocean.

According to UNEP: “Today, we produce about 400 million tonnes of plastic waste every year.” Plastics take ages to disintegrate and are physically crowding landfills, waterways, and communities with pollution in unprecedented ways. Not only is this painful to look at, but plastics and micro-plastics are now harming our ecosystems and even human health.

Daniela was inspired to bring attention to the matter in a unique way:

“I was inspired by the Venezuelan artist Olivares, who has created large-scale murals and is featured in museums in Paris, to create consciousness among people in my city by using recyclable materials to create art and beauty in our hometown.”

Daniela and a fellow Scout pose in front of the partially-completed mural during two days of work with 50 volunteers.
Daniela and a fellow Scout pose in front of the partially-completed mural during two days of work with 50 volunteers.

Like a true Scout, Daniela relied on teamwork and collaboration to design this wall. Fellow Scout Marivi Caldera designed the artwork, which expresses their passion for sustainable development, especially marine life and fragile ecosystems. 

 

Around 50 volunteers, including Daniela, helped cement 27,500 bottle caps to the wall to create this mural.

Central to the mural are images of planet earth, a turtle, and a dove.

The turtle symbolises the preservation of vulnerable species - which is especially important to Venezuelan conservationists because Venezuela is home to 5 of 7 turtle species in the world in danger of extinction.

The dove symbolises peace - a value all Scouts hold near their hearts, as we aim to create a better, greener world where all living beings can thrive.

Among the 50 volunteers, there were many Scouts, helping leave this world a little better than they found it!
Among the 50 volunteers, there were many Scouts, helping leave this world a little better than they found it!

A team of 50 volunteers from a variety of community organizations spent two days bringing this vision to life, using plastic caps of various colours and sizes to finalise the design. 

In addition to collaboration with her community, Daniela benefitted from a partnership with Protect Paradise Venezuela, collected the caps from Multirecicla, and received the generous support of the Interamerican Scout Foundation, which financed this project.

Daniela feels grateful to have worked with a dream team of volunteers from Scouts, two community organisations, and a photographer.
Daniela feels grateful to have worked with a dream team of volunteers from Scouts, two community organisations, and a photographer.

After decades of promises, true climate action has never been more important, and Daniela’s project will help shine a light on this urgent issue for everyone who passes by this mural on Coro’s main road. 

Daniela knows the importance of partnerships for achieving great things, saying: “There are no words to express what I want to say but I am grateful that you all joined me to make this possible, thank you all!”

She urges all young people to dream big and ask for support to make their vision come true. Scouts are agents of change and dialogue, all of Scout have the potential to become a bridge between organizations to meet the common goal: environmental action.

The project has inspired Scouts in Panama to start working on a similar project. We can’t wait to see what comes next! Let’s create a better world together, starting from home.

Are you working on a project to improve your community? Submit it at www.sdgs.scout.org