FIELD NOTES – OCTOBER 2020
The Parley Global Cleanup Network mobilized to celebrate World Cleanup Day with new volunteers, new partners and new zero-emission transport
A planet-wide day of action – #fortheoceans
Every September, organizations from around the world mobilize for World Clean Cleanup and the International Coastal Cleanup – a chance to unite in the fight against plastic pollution. After a difficult two years working under pandemic restrictions, 2022 gave us the chance to organize some truly next-level cleanups: experimenting with new forms of zero-emission transport, partnering with new collaborators and mobilizing a new generation of volunteers: many of whom were joining big cleanup events for the first time.
From the Seychelles to Australia, Argentina to the Maldives, Brazil and beyond, we welcomed hundreds of people to the movement and celebrated some big milestones with partners. In Sydney, the team was joined by kayakers and friends from WLTH at Lavender Bay under the city’s iconic Harbour Bridge. Volunteers hunted in the reedbeds and rivers of San Isidro and San Fernando in Argentina, collecting over 600kg of debris – including some large barrels and other plastic waste. In the Seychelles, volunteers of all ages traveled to the aquamarine waters of Ile Longue to clean the beach – and in Brazil, a massive 240-member team helped clean up over 100,000 square meters.
“Early in the morning it was raining but the weather wasn't a problem for the collaborators and volunteers that showed up and committed to donate their time to support the oceans,” says Thais Goncalves, one of Parley’s two Brazil coordinators. “We had groups of teenagers and kids collecting and learning about microplastics on the beach, while the adults split into different groups going by boat and trail to do the cleanup in the most remote areas of the Parque Natural Municipal Costeira de Zimbros. In the end, all the debris were separated and sent to a social recycling organization.”
Protecting the West Coast in South Africa
Plastic isn’t the only threat facing our seas. In South Africa, heavy mineral sand mining on the West Coast is threatening ecosystems. Industrial-scale extraction of minerals such as zircon, ilmenite, rutile, magnetite and garnet is taking place on huge tracts of coastline between Columbine and the Orange River, including areas that are officially deemed Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas.
As Marguerite Hofmeyr of Parley South Africa partner Sentinel Ocean Alliance explains, “this year we collaborated with Protect The West Coast to bring attention to the fact that plastic waste is everywhere, even on the remote shorelines of the West Coast of South Africa. We wanted to raise awareness around the hundreds of kilometres of South Africa’s West Coast coastline that are being mined, or have been earmarked for mining. These industrial-scale extractions have lasting consequences for local communities, fisheries and the natural environment, for generations to come."
Underwater cleanups in Sweden and Spain
Always mindful of carbon emissions, we partnered with Aim Zero and electric boat innovators X Shore to carry out a zero-emission cleanup – no fossil fuels required. Setting out from the Swedish town of Fiskebäckskil on the Gullmarn fjord, a team of five volunteer divers descended into the cold, Nordic waters to target underwater marine debris.
“The main goal of this trip was abandoned lobster cages,” explains team leader Erik Rådström Acnell. “We have an area where there are a lot lost during many years, so being able to recover them using a zero-emission boat was a fantastic win/win for the oceans.”
Elsewhere underwater, the Parley team in Spain welcomed our collaborators at REBO, Mar de Fondo and SweatCoin to carry out a cleanup of the seabed off Magaluf beach in Mallorca. The event saw 40 divers and 10 freedivers taking part. In total, 250kg of waste were collected, from small plastic pieces to entire sections of boat hulls and tires.
“Some places are hard to reach and clean,” says Parley’s Oona Layolle. “So it felt great to be able to dive with local volunteers and collaborators in Palma de Mallorca and get all the trash that we could retrieve as a homage to the beauty and fragility of the oceans on this World Cleanup Day.”
Reconnecting with nature and heritage in Hawai'i
Education is a huge part of what we do, and in Hawaiʻi the team has been busy on a project reconnecting local youth with their heritage, culture and natural environment. As Parley Hawaiʻi CEO Kahi Pacarro explains: “This summer we took 15 youth from an underserved community to reconnect with not just the ocean, but also the land. This youth group from Kuhio Park Terrace (a government housing project) completed a full round of education through Parley's Ocean Immersion Clinics. Two months ago they participated in a Nā Kama Kai marine activation to learn how to be safe in and around the ocean, then last month came to the Parley AIR Station for some education sessions. Everything came together on World Cleanup Day with a hike to honor an ancestor and legend in Polynesia – “Papa Mau Piailug” – followed by sailing and some fish pond restoration work.”
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