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Project Aware Rota holds annual island cleanup
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Posted on Sep 27 2000
Rota’s third annual participation in the Project AWARE International cleanup was held on Sept. 16, 2000 which marked the kick off for Project AWARE efforts around the world.
Paralleling Mayor Benjamin T. Manglona’s proclamation for September’s devotion to island beautification and cleanup, Rota volunteers put forth double the effort to clean the waters and coastal areas surrounding Songsong village.
Eighty-nine registered volunteers participated in the Project AWARE effort, up from last year’s 60 volunteers. Youth and adults worked hand in hand to scour Rota’s West and East Harbor areas of marine debris. Among the crew were four divers from Rota High School Student Dive Team, in addition to adult dive volunteers, snorkelers, and a kayaker who rid the harbor bottoms of debris.
On land, five crews of student and adult volunteers covered coastal areas around Songsong village collecting a wide variety of debris items.
On behalf of local organizers, the Luta Marine Education Center, Dive Rota and the Commonwealth Ports Authority, a special thanks is extended to many hardworking volunteers. In addition, appreciation is extended to local offices and businesses including the Mariana’s Visitors Authority, Lucky Store, Sinapalo Safeway, SM Cost & Save, Penny Meitetsu, and Midtown Mart, who all contributed to Project AWARE.
Culmination of the collection included data recording by student volunteers who sorted, counted, weighed and recorded all debris items. This data will be sent to the primary organizing body of Project AWARE, the Center for Marine Conservation. In addition, the data has also been made available for use in classrooms at Rota schools.
In total, the group collected over 650 pounds of debris. Though the greatest mass came from tires and metal objects, the greatest number of items fell into the category of aluminum cans. The bulk of the debris, even that found in the water, was land based.
