What's Happening on World Oceans Day? Join Us for a Beach & Ocean Cleanup at Waimushan!

June 17th was overcast with light rain, but the chilly weather couldn't dampen our enthusiasm — today, BlueTrend rolled up its sleeves and headed out for a beach cleanup.

The Impact of Marine Debris

This beach cleanup event was organized by Rambo Dive, taking place around the Haixing Swimming Pool area at Waimushan. Before the event officially began, several early-arriving volunteers were already using tongs to pick up cigarette butts and rubbish in the surrounding area. City Councilmember Zhang Bingjun also came by to cheer everyone on.

Volunteers diligently collecting marine debris.

At the start of the event, head coordinator Coach A-Paul said: "On shore, we'll mainly be clearing rubbish that has been washed into the tetrapods by the waves; for underwater debris, we'll be relying on our divers to go in and remove it."

Coach A-Paul also shared that marine debris doesn't just affect the sanitary conditions on shore — waves and currents can sometimes drag fishing nets into the tetrapods surrounding the seabed, posing serious hazards to the ecosystem and to divers. That's why Rambo Dive has persisted in beach and ocean cleanups year after year, in the hope of maintaining a safe marine environment for everyone.

Coach A-Paul delivering the pre-dive briefing.

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

Under the planning of the Rambo Dive instructors and the leadership of Coach A-Paul, divers entered the water one by one. BlueTrend noticed one diver was a little slower than the rest — upon asking, we learned that despite a foot injury from an accident, he was determined to contribute however he could and insisted on participating to the very end. After all the divers were in the water, Coach YOYO remained on the surface to keep watch, awaiting everyone's return.

BlueTrend founder Spark joins Rambo Dive's Coach YOYO (in orange) to keep watch over the divers.

As the divers entered the water, the shore cleanup was in full swing. The volunteers moved nimbly among the tetrapods, picking up marine debris — but up close, you could see the sweat pouring off them as they climbed up and down. Not a single person complained; everyone was focused on retrieving as much debris as possible. Items that were too far away or too awkward to reach were passed along in a human chain to the nearest rubbish bag. The bags, packed full of debris, often required 3–4 men to haul them up the long flight of stairs. During the carry-out, BlueTrend overheard other volunteers calling out words of encouragement: "Keep it up — a man who can carry the trash is the coolest man of all!" BlueTrend couldn't agree more!

To retrieve every piece of marine debris, volunteers scrambled tirelessly up and down the tetrapods.

Director Yuan Xuhu of Hairen Production joins everyone in hauling marine debris away.

When Coach YOYO called the divers back to shore, BlueTrend watched as each one surfaced with their hands full. Some divers even managed to bring up entire tyres, and the diver who had been struggling to move around on land somehow hauled up an enormous piece of scrap metal. Coach A-Paul and his dive buddy even surfaced together carrying a huge bundle of pipes — a testament to incredible underwater coordination. Every single person was a true ocean cleanup warrior.

Diver Geng Ming beamed with pride at having managed to bring a tyre all the way up to shore.

Despite limited mobility, he brought up an enormous piece of scrap metal with sheer determination — leaving BlueTrend in absolute awe.

Coach A-Paul and his dive buddy haul a huge bundle of pipes back to shore together.

More than 30 people took part in the beach cleanup in total. The marine debris collected piled up like a small mountain. It was hard work, but everyone was beaming with brilliant smiles — shining like warriors returning triumphant from battle.

As the skies cleared over Waimushan, it felt as though the ocean itself was saying thank you.

After the marine debris was cleared away, the skies began to clear as well — as if the ocean were showing off its good mood, smiling and whispering a quiet thank-you to everyone.

Organizers:

Co-organizers:

海編"布魯陳"

我是布魯陳，平常喜歡帶著大相機下海找生物，如果你有海洋議題歡迎找我聊聊，約我吃飯更歡迎！