Sept 11: Beach clean-up
Monday, July 19th, 2010
SG beach
Brownies on Pulau Semakau
A message from a tree-hugger
TRASH in the ocean doesn’t fall from the sky — it falls from people’s hands. Since 1986, millions around the globe have joined in Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup, the world’s largest volunteer effort to clean up our marine environment.
It’s not just about picking up rubbish, it’s also being about a data detective. Who’s trashing the ocean and waterways? Ocean Conservancy analyses the data we will collect on Sept 11 to determine what activities are likely to be causing the debris in the area. For instance, a potato chip bag may indicate picnickers while a 1-quart oil bottle probably came from a boat, and a strapping band likely from a cargo ship.
The information on your data card will be used to help citizens, community groups and schools, municipalities, business and industry, and government agencies develop solutions for pollution problems associated with coastal and water-borne debris. Filling out your data card as accurately as possible will lead to better debris solutions for the community!
For your safety:
- Do not go near any large barrels or drums
- Be careful with sharp objects and syringes
- Wear gloves and close-toed shoes
- Stay out of dunes and natural areas
- Watch out for wildlife
- Don’t lift anything too heavy
Clean-up tips:
- Collect data as a team, with one person recording items on the data cards, while others collect and bag trash.
- Bag all the debris you find on the beach and shoreline (above and below the waterline), but record information only on the items specifically listed on the data card.
- Use tick marks to keep count of your items and enter the total in the box to the left of each debris item.
- Use only numbers to record quantities. Do not write words such as “lots” or “many”
- Leave natural items like driftwood or seaweed on the beach. Avoid stepping on dune plants and grass.
We will limit enrolment to 18 as I’m new to organising and this is run almost like an army operation…We will “adopt” the site together with Hougang Secondary School’s uniformed groups.
You can read all the information here.
1. Part I. The impact of marine debris
2. Part II. Marine Life in Singapore (very cute, we have dugongs and dolphins)
3. Part III. Analysis & Relevance of ICC Data
4. Part IV. What can we do
5. Part V. How to organize a cleanup (for organiser to review)
6. Part VI. Conduct the ICCS briefing
Volunteers will have to bring their own gloves (cotton gloves can be bought from army supplies stores islandwide), black trash bag and poncho/umbrella (we will call off the event in case of lightning) and find their own way to Tanah Merah 3-5. We’ll meet at the NSRCC car park* at 9am on Sept 11. The event will end at 12pm, with all trash bags to be placed at the NSRCC carpark trash bins. I will print out a data card for each group of three.
I need someone who’s familiar with excel to help upload the information to the site. I suppose I *can* do it, but I dislike excel…
E-mail yvonnekoh@gmail.com to register.
—
*
National Service Resort & Country Club,
10 Changi Coast Walk, Singapore 499739
Tel: (65) 6542 8288 Fax: (65) 6545 6508
