Mattresses, microwaves and dinghies are just a few of the items the Brentwood Bay Marine Community pulled out of the ocean as they work to make life in the bay, if not easier, a little cleaner.
A group of 25 volunteers came together to remove four truckloads of marine debris and abandoned skiffs.
“It makes me proud. It was a lot of work,” said Roger Hebert, president of the Brentwood Bay Marine Community Society (BBMCS), which organized the cleanup.
“We’re trying to make the bay a better place. I think it’s exciting to see the positive reaction from people.”
The recent cleanup was the second organized by the BBMCS, which held its first community cleanup in January.
During the most recent effort, volunteers were able to pull 4,200 pounds of debris from the ocean, including batteries, engines, a generator, a fridge, a microwave, a mattress and some derelict boats.
While 4,200 pounds may seem like a staggering amount of trash, it was actually a decline from their previous effort, which saw 6,200 pounds – or five truckloads – of debris removed from the bay.
The marine community was motivated to take the bay’s cleanup into their own hands after two abandoned boats sank one morning, nearly bringing down the three additional boats they were lashed to.
“We cut the three boats that were still floating and dragged them to a mooring. Then we realized that these boats were completely logged with garbage – I mean like from the ceiling to the floor. So the last 6,000 pounds we did was all from the same person,” said Hebert.
The first cleanup focused on the trash of just one person. The more recent event took care of everything else, with volunteers removing garbage from liveaboards and abandoned boats at the municipal dock while others collected trash along the shoreline.
Removing such amounts of garbage is no easy task – it requires time and funding. The first cleanup cost nearly $1,500. Thankfully, many hands make light work. With the community coming together, the trash was removed within just a few hours, giving volunteers plenty of time to enjoy some hot dogs afterward. Fundraising costs were covered by the community as well, with some help from their sponsor, Saanich Peninsula Drainage and Sewage, which also helped haul away trash.
The Saanich Inlet Protection Society (SIPS) also helped promote the event and attended to lend a hand and show support.
“It was really gratifying to see so many people that actually care about the environment, the bay and the conditions under which the people in the bay live,” said Michael Simmons, vice-president of SIPS, who added that management of the bay has improved over the years.
Simmons said the cleanup helped to highlight the issues that remain in the bay, particularly those regarding sewage disposal and beach closures caused by contamination.
Hebert has more future cleanups planned. He is in ongoing talks with organizations like Transport Canada and the CRD to get more help maintaining the bay, and hopes to one day secure grants to bring in a diver to support cleanup efforts.
Regardless of who is officially responsible for cleaning the bay, Hebert is proud to see the community stepping up.
“I feel like everyone was willing to collaborate because they feel like there is a need going forward, instead of waiting for the ‘official one,’” he said.
“We really want to involve everyone in the vision and the direction of where the society is going.”
