26OCT12: 4 instructors (Brendon, Liz, Mesak and Dion) spent an hour collecting marine debris with 2 guides (Rian and Ronald) and a guest (Roland) on 26th October. We collected 45kg of trash, mainly comprising plastic bottles, diapers, aqua cups and polystyrene pieces. We also noticed lots of broken glass fragments which could become a major hazard for people walking the beach, plus an unusual amount of crockery. Several china plates in decent state were retrieved from the mangroves - we cannot imagine the force of water it took to carry them there!

The sad thing, however, is yet again many karung (rice) sacks and items of clothing which have become bound by the mangrove roots - some pieces were just too bogged down to retrieve. This shows how important cleaning the beach is on a regular basis since items like these quickly become part of the mangrove system, and who knows how this may affect their growth long term. We were the only people cleaning the beach despite the village starting weekly cleaning sessions. We hope if we continue then others can learn from our examples.