A good number of youths recently took part in a beach clean-up program hosted by two non-Government organizations: Malia Foundation and Sea Keepers in Ialakua ward of Raluana LLG in the Kokopo District, East New Britain Province. These are community-based programs established to involve youths to be responsible in looking after the sea as well as to keep them away from law and order issues. The theme of the clean-up program which was, ‘Green skills for youths towards sustainable world’ was also hosted to commemorate International Youth Day. With such initiatives, this sets as an example to other coastal villagers who must come up with such projects also to focus on restoration of the environment by looking after the marine environment. Provincial Climate Change Program Officer, Maryanne Wariga, stated that under the Natural Resource Management and Development (NRDM) unit, they also have two programs which are Climate Change and Environment Management and Conservation which help communities in terms of the protection of the environment and also address environmental issues and the climate change issues.\ Wariga commended Malia Foundation and Sea Keepers for coming up with such an initiative especially in terms of involving youths in taking part in such activities. The NRDM have been supporting Malia Foundation with their programs and will identify those individuals and associations with such initiatives where they will then support them in cash or kind as this will contribute to a clean environment and conservation. Furthermore, the unit also assists in training if there is a need for the community to have capacity training they then identify and assist them as well as conducting environmental awareness. Founder of Malia Foundation, Emma Oliver, who is a lecturer at the Papua New Guinea University of Natural Resources and Environment (UNRE), said she started the program in 2020 involving the UNRE students to go into the communities doing awareness on marine conservation because they saw the need. “I saw the increase in law-and-order problems in the ward so we wanted to create something for the youths where we integrated the program to the community involving and upskilling youths on coral farming and other topics.” The program saw UNRE Fisheries and Climate Change students, youths and children from Ialakua ward do a clean- up collecting plastics, bottles and other man-made rubbish from Barovon ward beach to Ialakua ward. Meanwhile, all coastal villagers in the province have been encouraged to look after their beach fronts and refrain from throwing rubbish into the sea.