G'day,

March 4 is Clean-up Australia Day. For the past 4 years I have
made it a point to go and do my bit for the cause. A beautiful
Sunday morning got me down to the shop early for my air-fill and
then it was off to Manly Cove for the clean-up.
 Once registered, it was time to introduce myself to the fellow
volunteers. A good sized contingent from the Underwater Research
Group (URG) were present, with ages ranging from very young to
seasoned veterans. (cleaner-uppers I mean)
 We organized a game plan as to avoid covering areas that we had
already cleaned up. We would cover from the base of the Manly
Oceanarium and work our way east to the end of the shark net
enclosure, a span of about 150 meters. The wind was blowing into
the cove from the south, making conditions choppy and stirring
up the bottom.
 With collection bag in hand it was time to get wet and start
looking for goodies....and there certainly was no shortage of
junk this year. Within an hour, I had filled three large sacks
with plastic and paper items including soda straws, drink
bottles, plastic bags, paper cups, tin cans, bottles, the seat
off a wooden chair, and some blue yachting canvas. All up, the
dozen of us had dragged out about 40 bags of debris, again
mostly plastic items. I suppose it goes to show that we have a
long way to go in cleaning up our act in regards to the masses
of litter that makes its way into our rivers and harbours.
 On a positive front, the sea grass beds in the area appear to
be expanding and the amount of fishlife found was quite
impressive. Perhaps a sign that things are improving slowly.
 For those interested there is a web-site all about this annual
nationwide event. Worth a look.

http://www.cleanup.com.au/

Cheers
Bird


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