The clean-up took place on 22 April and aimed to raise awareness about good environmental practices among the volunteers, who were mainly employees of the hotel group.
Around one ton of waste including a discarded bed mattress was removed from the sands, thus protecting the unique flora and fauna of the renowned Nature Reserve.
The teams also made time to clean up patches of Hottentot-Fig, or Carpobrotus Edulis, a creeping, mat-forming succulent species of plant that is native to the Cape region of South Africa.
Volunteers were also invited to fill bottles of water consumed throughout the day with sand to place in the cisterns of toilets in the group’s hotels, as part of a water-saving measure that could see an annual reduction of over 100 cubic metres of drinkable water.
Olhão Mayor António Pina said: “It is important to preserve this natural gem that is the Ria Formosa at all costs, and this is a task for each of us. To that extent, the municipality of Olhão welcomes this initiative by Real Marina, reiterating that they and other local entities can always count on all our cooperation.”