On Sunday May 8th, I organised my first DAD/clean up event. I did it as part of my ongoing and growing concern for our planets seas and waterways, and also as my PADI Divemaster project.

Event though I chose a site where I do not live, I was able to muster the support of the local community (and non-locals) to help me fight debris in their local waters. This location has a lot of problems with waste from passing ships and water tourism washing up on their shores and getting stuck there in the abundant reeds that cover them. I knew that I would have to organise an extensive surface clean up, backed up by a Dive Against Debris survey of the surrounding waterways.

The DAD did not yield any debris at this location. The surface clean up on the other hand, yielded a bundle! The 30 or so volunteers were able to pull 485 kilos, nearly 1100 lbs, of waste and debris from the canal and lake shores. Nearly all of it was stuck in the reeds. We had limited ourselves to two hours, but we could have gone all day. There is plenty more work to do there, so it is not unthinkable that we might return there in the near future.

By the way, I passed my Divemaster project with a 4.5 out of 5. Happy!