DEAR EDITOR:
I was delighted by yet another timely and appropriate Ron Woodall cartoon in last week’s Undercurrent, in advance of this year’s Dive for Debris (D4D) event held off the shores of Sandy Beach and in the depths of Mannion Bay. Right on Ron! I was one of the 30 on-shore volunteers who off-loaded the wide variety of debris from Bruce Mcdonald’s landing barge. The debris was salvaged by the volunteer divers, then sorted, weighed, and carried to the Bowen Island Municipality trucks on Cardena Road.
I leave it to the D4D committee for an official report with photos. I just wanted to thank the organizers for the event and volunteers who made it such a success.
This meaningful event was most productive, educational and a great deal of fun working with so many islanders I had not previously met. I can just imagine how much more enjoyable the four-hour event would have been on a sunny day, rather than having to smile and work in the monsoon-like rains. The only thing worse than the weather was the lesson learned by us all that too many individuals carelessly and unthinkingly use the bay and ocean as a garbage can. How sad, but all was not bad thanks to the creativity of the event organizers and many local artists who are going to use some of the debris to make creative art pieces. That is the height of what I would consider, “thinking outside of the ocean,” by turning a negative into a positive!
Kudos to the artists who will transform environmentally harmful debris into works of art, not solely to please the eye but to educate and encourage us all to give more thought to the proper and responsible disposal of unwanted debris and remind us that neither Mannion Bay, the Salish Sea nor any other parts of our oceans are garbage cans. I encourage more locals to watch for this event next year and lend their volunteer support, a most gratifying and educational experience. Not only will you feel better for your participation, the fish and other marine life will love and flourish because of it.
Bruce Russell, Friends of Mannion Bay Spokesperson
