On the 22nd April 2016, the community of Koh Tao participated in the biggest Earth Day celebration to date. Not only was the intention to protect and preserve Koh Tao, but it also formed a platform to raise funds for a well known community member and conservationist, Chad Scott.

The day was divided into three sections.

The Morning- Beach and Land Clean-up

Earth day started off with a land and beach cleanup island wide. Participants from various dive schools met at different locations around the island, Crystal/Eco Koh Tao meeting at the Main Lomprayah pier at 9am where rubbish bags, gloves and water were handed out.  From there, each of the dive schools were allocated an area to clean.  With the heat of the sun just pelting down, local shop owners generously handed out ice cold bottles of water, fresh coconuts and fruit at every other shop we passed.   It’s days like this that make you feel proud of being part of the community.  The rubbish collected that morning was bagged up and left in various spots for collection. 

The Afternoon- Dive Site cleanup

The afternoon ‘Dive for Debris’ activities saw 20 Koh Tao dive centres donating one or more of their dive boats to the cause. This was biggest clean up dive  on Koh Toa. Over 40 Koh Tao dive centres, 353 divers took part, with each dive boat assigned a dive site to clean. The divers were charged 1,000Baht per person which included the two clean up dives and a raffle ticket for a bumper raffle that evening.  Crystal Dive/Eco Koh Tao had so many people interested in diving for debris that we had to send out 2 boats!  In total 80 divers joined our underwater ‘Dive for Debris’ cleanup which including PADI’s Regional Manager for Thailand East Giovanni Cacchione and PADI Course Director, General Manager at Crystal dive Matt Bolton and most of the Crystal/Eco Koh Tao staff.

Our allocated dive site was Aow Mao North and Aow Mao South. Crystal 2 and Crystal 3 set off to the destination. There was an incredible vibe on the boat. Everyone was there because they care about the state of our oceans and care about making a difference.   On the boat the dive leaders were briefed.  Dive teams that had a max of people 5 people were equipped with Project AWARE 'Dive for Debris' mesh bags, a glove and a cutting tool.  On entering the water, teams were assigned a direction to dive to, on our hunt for debris.

For Dive For Debris, the had to be sorted into different categories: Plastic bottles, Plastic waste, Tin cans, Metal waste, Fabric, Rope, Fishing line/nets and Other.  So after each dive, rubbish was sorted and labeled (eg: Plastic Bottles / Aow Mao / Dive 1 / CDR).  Once back at the pier, rubbish had to be taken, placed in separate piles and weighed in. Crystal/Eco Koh Tao alone collected a massive 149.05kg of debris!! 

Island wide, an enormous 1,254kgs of debris was collected.  Koh Tao’s ocean is a cleaner place thanks to ALL those involved.

100% of all funds raised from all the dive boats participating in our Earth Day ‘Dive for Debris’ were donated directly to Chad’s fund which showed an incredible generosity and community spirit from Koh Tao community

The Evening- Raffle festivities

The Hacienda was incredibly generous in offering to host the evening’s events. From 6pm food stalls were open for business. Drinks flowed as hundreds of people showed up to support the event, grab some food , meet friends, take part in the games that were available, and eagerly await the results from the mega raffle.

The raffle started at 9.15pm. Almost 2911 raffle tickets were sold.  Amazing prizes had been donated for the event which 100% of that money went towards Chad’s Leukemia treatment. More money was raised on food,  games and people having their heads shaved.

20% of all drink profits were also donated to Chad so needless to say the crowd was drinking for a good cause.

Earth day on Koh Tao this year was more than just a land and dive site cleanup. It was a community event and was great to see the Koh Tao family unite with a common goal all for a great cause. A family that stands together to help each other. In an amazing effort, over  735,580baht was raised.

A huge THANK YOU to all the organizers who and participants involved!