Ocean Friendly Port Alberni (PA) spent a Saturday afternoon at the end of April cleaning debris and garbage from the Somass Estuary.
Twenty-five volunteers, many of them from the Alberni Valley Nature Club, showed up in the inclement weather to collect and sort debris, which was then logged into an online database tracking plastics for global policy change. Spokesperson Gail Morton thanked City of Port Alberni engineer Rob Dickinson for donating his day to help sort, monitor and open the gates to the estuary.
“Ocean Friendly PA would like to thank the families who brought their kids out to take part in the cleanup event,” she added.
“There is nothing like kids to motivate, especially when you know that their health and well-being depend on the rest of us working with them to restore some of what we have lost in ocean health. Anything is possible with the enthusiasm of these children who gain strength and a sense of purpose by taking part.”
Ocean Friendly PA has been working alongside Surfrider Pacific Rim in Tofino for two and a half years under Alberni Valley Transition Town Society sub-groups. the Port Alberni group is grateful to Alys Hoyland for this year’s support.
Ocean Friendly PA is planning another event on Friday, June 10 at Blair Park in honour of World Oceans Day, which is June 8.
The event will be open to the public; more details will be announced soon.
For more information about Ocean Friendly PA or to join, please call Jim at 780-888-7931 or Gail at 250-723-2292.