International Coastal Clean-up Day takes place in the third week of September each year. It is an initiative of the Ocean Conservancy, and brings together volunteers worldwide to clean up our beaches and waterways.
The Two Oceans Aquarium and Thrive are working together this year to get Hout Bay beach, as well as the harbour, spick and span. Thrive is an organisation in Hout Bay that promotes five pillars of sustainability, namely waste minimisation, water conservation, food security, energy conservation, and biodiversity management. It aims to create awareness about these five pillars through involving the communities and schools of Hout Bay.
We are also very excited to announce that Hout Bay Recycling (HBR) will be on site on the day to collect and sort any recyclables from the litter collected by the volunteers. HBR is a community initiative in Imizamo Yethu township, which has been operating since 2008 under the guidance of Thrive. HBR employs local people from the township and encourages the greater community of Hout Bay to drop off their recyclables. It has won several awards since starting off. Watch the video below about HBR:
There will also be an underwater clean-up run by the NSRI, which our collections team will be taking part in (they will be cleaning the harbour basin). Furthermore, a team from Kaskazi Kayak will be cleaning the outer harbour walls of any debris and litter. We are very excited to have all these groups on board to make Hout Bay a cleaner place.
The usual on-land clean-up, picking up everything and anything that should not be there, will start from the Mariner’s Wharf parking lot. During previous clean-ups, volunteers have found some pretty strange items:
It is the most common items that you should, however, look out for – these are mostly plastic, single-use items, such as plastic bags, cigarette butts and straws. Items like these are harmful to marine life in many ways. Yes, they are an eyesore, but it is the hidden dangers that most people are not aware of – the fact that seals, dolphins, whales, turtles and sea birds regularly mistake plastic as food, or get entangled in them. So do it for the animals!
Details:
20 September 2014, from 10am to 12pm
Meeting point: Mariner’s Wharf parking lot
We will supply bags, gloves and data sheets
Please remember to bring sunscreen, hats and water (in a reusable or recyclable container)
Meet our mascots, Samantha the Penguin and Silver the Shark, for some fun #selfies and enjoy a puppet show or two (for the young and young at heart) after your hard work on the beach.
Let us know if you will be joining us in two ways – email us on education@aquarium.co.za or join our event on Facebook (and invite your friends).
Sea you there!
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