Gansbaai: International Coastal Clean-up Day
September 18, 2017 Dyer Island Conservation Trust
Annually, the world unites in a coastal clean-up initiative. Data collected from this day feeds into a national and international database with Ocean Conservancy who started this global action.
This year the Dyer Island Conservation Trust partnered with Volkswagen, Marine Dynamics and Overstrand Municipality in support of International Coastal Clean Up Day. In Gansbaai, a few groups united to work in different areas. Our group of 39 including our environmental education group (DEEP) tackled the Gansbaai caravan park area, moving towards the Gansbaai tidal pool, a distance of 1.5km. Together we collected 21 bags of trash totalling 55kgs. The primary items we collected were condoms (152), straws/stirrers (892) and plastic bottle caps (554). Other high items were cigarette butts (340) and food wrappers (314). These findings are consistent with international stats on prime marine pollution offenders. The condom problem is along our valuable coastline and is a direct action of the illegal abalone poaching in the area. It is believed the condoms are used to keep cell phones protected.
Volkswagen together with Dyer Island Conservation Trust, a long-standing partnership under the #VW4Good initiative took the clean up a step further this year in order to create more awareness for the ocean’s current peril. VW commissioned artists from Junk A New who will utilise the trash and rubbish that is collected from this year’s International Coastal Clean Up Day to use as materials to reinvent them, turning trash into treasure and create a spectacular festive light installation. This installation will go up in Gansbaai – the home of Dyer Island – and Hermanus over the Festive Season and will highlight the conservation efforts of Dyer Island Conservation Trust together with the support of VW.
Thanks are extended to International Marine Volunteers, Grootbos Foundation, Gansbaai Academia and the Dyer Island Conservation Trust Environmental Group for braving the weather in support of our efforts.
Individually we are one drop, together we are an ocean – Ryunosuke Satoro
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