Ecologists call on Green Monday picknickers not to dump trash

The Green Party on Sunday called on people who plan to picnic on Green Monday to respect the environment when they are in the countryside and to avoid cutting or uprooting wildflowers and shrubs as many of them are endemic and picking them is strictly prohibited.

In a written statement, party leader Charalambos Theopemptou said it was everyone’s duty preserve and protect this integral part of the country’s natural heritage, “which is the precious jewel of our natural environment.”

At the same time, he called on the public not to throw garbage away but to pick it up and take it home. He said the Greens message was: “Nature is not a garbage dump”.

Members of the party plan to visit Athalassa park in Nicosia on Monday morning at 11am and will hand out reusable bags to picknickers, along with environmental information.