Pina Careddu, the beach sentinel against sand theft

Sardinia is a small natural paradise, with pristine white beaches and crystal-clear turquoise water , straight out of an advertising brochure. The sand on Sardinian beaches is sometimes very fine, sometimes pink thanks to quartz or coral fragments, and sometimes, like on the rice beach , it's made up of tiny mineral grains that give it a unique character: the typical sand that looks great in glass bottles as a travel souvenir. A completely unsustainable souvenir that erodes beaches and is banned in many parts of Italy.

And if we ever thought, in good faith, that sand thieves weren't a problem worth addressing, if we had a clear understanding of the phenomenon's numbers, we'd immediately change our minds: in the week of August 15th alone, 200 kilograms of sand were stolen from Is Arutas beach alone . Unsustainable.

READ ALSO: Beach patrols recruited through crowdfunding. Fighting illegal activity and stopping those who pollute the sea.

HOW TO SAVE SARDINIA'S BEACHES

In this context, the gesture of Pina, 58, a volunteer against sand theft for over twenty years, appears to be one of great civic sense . They call her the sand police, and her "work" is carried out incognito, without uniforms or insignia.

During his long walks along the beaches of Sardinia's western coast, he carefully checks that tourists or visitors do not take bags or bottles of sand.
She pretends to be a beachgoer, and if anyone dares to take away some sand, she intervenes promptly. 

Some, when reprimanded, feel ashamed and leave the stolen sand behind, while others, however, continue undeterred despite the bans and the very severe penalties, which range from 1 to 6 years in prison.

PINA CAREDDU SENTRY ON THE BEACH

Thus, Pina Careddu, who has been walking those beaches since she was a child, finds herself forced to call the police first, or the Forestry Corps, which usually intervenes more promptly because this violation falls within its full potential. 

What drives Pina's work is not only a love for her homeland, but also, and above all, a strong sense of civic duty: some of the beaches she knew as a child are no longer there, closed and plundered by sand thieves. This outraged her so much that she decided to personally take action against rudeness, arrogance, and vandalism, thwarting hundreds of sand thefts.

READ MORE: Sand thefts, let's stop the devastation. And now there's the first informer (photo)

UNCIVILITY ON THE BEACH

The worst, Pina says, are sometimes the tourists themselves, whether Japanese or German, but also Italians themselves, who struggle to realize the landscape and tourist heritage we have, and which we should protect. 

Pina is kind but unyielding : as with the sand thieves, so with her children, first, and then with her grandchildren. She has never allowed them to bring sand or pebbles home, and sometimes they criticize her for not being the best company for going to the beach. With her, a day at the beach is never relaxing. Luckily.

(Featured image from corriere.it/Photo credits: corriere.it )

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