In this week’s Community Spotlight, Project AWARE catches up with Ron Willis, a dive center owner cleaning up his local lakes.

Tell us about your passion for ocean conservation.

I consider myself to be a scuba diver, an ocean enthusiast, and an environmental activist. I am also a PADI Master Instructor who loves to teach marine conservation to all my students. To me, they go hand in hand.

Why and when did you get involved with Project AWARE?

I first became involved with Project AWARE when I took over as the owner of Harrisburg's West Shore Scuba in Pennsylvania, the USA back in 2013. As a dive center owner, I have a responsibility to bring conservation into my business. We began by organizing yearly cleanups for Earth Day. Then I heard about Project AWARE's Dive Against Debris campaign and we knew we had to be part of it. 

What Project AWARE programs have you participated in? Tell us about your work.

We have some beautiful state parks near our dive center with hiking and biking trails. There are also a few lakes - some you can swim in. The areas get pretty busy during the warmer months and that's when we start to notice an increase in trash left in and around the lake. Most of the trash that blows into our waterways is plastic. So we take action by removing, recording and reporting the trash we find. 

What has been the highlight of your Project AWARE experience?

Each time we organize a Dive Against Debris we bring our community of divers together and we invite others to join. We become united in our desire to help create a cleaner planet. When I see our divers faces, they are proud of what they have done. It's a great feeling being able to bring people together and see their reactions. At our last cleanup, one of our divers also rescued a catfish from some fishing line so that was really nice! One year we even found a fireman's hook and a 55-gallon drum!

What is the most important thing you tell others about Project AWARE?

Think globally but act locally.  Each and every dive should be a Dive Against Debris.