Defying the strong winds blowing in the Aegean Sea, the All for Blue team continues its efforts to keep the seas clean and blue.
Katerina Topouzoglou, founder of All for Blue, says that before the end of the year, a final operation will be carried out in the southern Aegean to clean up the coastline and seabed, but with the main focus on education.
Addressing schoolchildren, volunteers engage them in the process of cleaning up the environment, but above all in caring for the space outside their homes. “Raising awareness today creates informed citizens tomorrow who will protect the sea and its creatures.”
Diving to shallow depths and collecting litter left by beachgoers, it has been found that “The most common items are cigarette butts from the shore and plastic from the seabed, sometimes sofas, Christmas trees, bicycles, electrical appliances, and even radiators.” As Ms. Topouzoglou says, before the cleanup operation, a seminar is held for students to inform them about what exactly happens beneath the blue surface of the sea.
Most members of All for Blue are free divers, which helps them greatly in freeing animals that have been caught in fishermen’s nets and hooks. According to Ms. Topouzoglou, these dives usually take place in the Bahamas, where large sharks, which are so essential to the sustainability of the planet’s environmental chain, fall victim to fishermen.
The clean-up and awareness campaign continues with the next stop being Santorini for four days, followed by Rhodes, while this year’s activities will conclude at Volos beach.
Source: Ert News (ertnews.gr)