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International Clean Up Day - Pattaya, Thailand - September 19th 2009

Scuba divers have a unique perspective of the underwater world, and see firsthand the crisis facing our underwater environments. In 1989, PADI developed the AWARE philosophy - Aquatic World Awareness, Responsibility and Education - to stress divers’ roles in conserving these environments and create a group of effective environmental advocates. “We want to feel that our children, their children and generations to come will be able to enjoy the underwater world that has given us so much. There are so many significant problems facing mankind, but as divers, this is truly our cause. If divers do not take an active role in preserving the aquatic realm, who will?”

Mermaids Dive Center, Pattaya, Thailand is a Go Eco Center committed to keeping Pattaya’s underwater realm and beaches in pristine condition for our local and international divers and snorkelers. Each month we dedicate a day to collect the unwanted from the reefs and beaches of an island in the immediate area. Our clean-up efforts are very successful and all divers and snorkelers that take part in this worthwhile project claim a sense of achievement at the end of the day for taking part and making their difference. Results of the clean up are submitted to Project AWARE for monitoring.

Can you remember what you did on the Saturday 20th September 2008? It’s not often that people can remember what they did a couple of weeks ago, so just in case… Some of you took part in one of South East Asia’s biggest beach and underwater clean ups with Mermaids Dive Center!

So it’s time to announce that… It’s the annual

Starting from our brand new operations center located in Jomtien. The new dive center has lots of good parking and space for all of the guys.

To join Mermaids International Clean Up then please click here...(opens in a new window)

Thank you for all your hard work and participation last year, with 176 people taking part and 156,000 baht donated to Project AWARE, we all felt a great sense of achievement and here’s what PADI and Project AWARE had to say for all our efforts:

“You and your team have done an outstanding job in conducting such a successful Clean-Up Day. The photos say it all, and the total donations are impressive. Thanks very much for your efforts”

Henrik C. Nimb
Vice President, Marketing, Education and Business Development, PADI

“I am still blown away it’s the best fundraiser supporting underwater conservation in a very long time All donations will certainly go a long way to support conservation efforts in Asia Pacific. We really appreciate all the time and hard work you have put in”

Joanna McNamara
Marketing and Fundraising Co-ordinator, Project Aware

To make your booking, simply complete the booking form. Prices for the event this year including the day, T Shirt and dinner on the evening are:

900 baht per person for snorkelers and passengers and 2,499 baht per diver including equipment

Raffle tickets will once again be on sale during the day and the fabulous prizes again include equipment, hotel stays and dinners. All proceeds will go to Project AWARE and we are hoping to top the 200 mark both in numbers and donation this year. Help us make this year’s event even more spectacular and join us for fun, laughter and some cleaning on the 19th September 2009.

International Clean Up Day 20th September 2008

On Saturday 20th September 2008, Mermaids Dive Center organized the annual Project AWARE International cleanup day of the beach and coral reef on Koh Sak Island, just off the coast of Pattaya.

Hailed as the biggest ever Project AWARE cleanup day in Pattaya, 176 participants with ages ranging from 7 upwards took part in this massive environmental effort. Everyone registered at Mermaids Dive Center in Jomtien and was treated to bacon and egg rolls whilst being kitted up for equipment that they needed. All participants were transported to the 6 boats at Bali Hai Pier in South Pattaya, which then cast off bound for Koh Sak. Following initial briefings by Mermaids Staff on board each boat about the procedures for the day, overview of the dive site and safety procedures, divers and snorkelers alike prepared their gear to enter the water on arrival.

Once the Mermaids fleet including a dedicated safety support speed boat had arrived at Koh Sak and all teams were made aware of their roles, divers and snorkelers entered the water for cleanup session 1. For the next hour, divers, snorkelers and passengers collected, counted and separated trash and when everyone got back to their boat clutching their bags full of rubbish it became obvious just how valuable an event this was proving to be. Some of the trash collected on this session included a car seat, items of clothing and a large amount of bottles. Each bottle was individually checked and was put back in the water if contained living fish or organisms.

Back on board all the teams then settled down for a hearty lunch cooked on board by the boat crews. The topic of lunchtime conversation was very much about the trash that had been collected with everyone agreeing to be more aware themselves in the future about recycling.

It was then time for all participants to swim over to the beach at Koh Sak for cleanup session 2 and start collecting trash that had accumulated on the beach both from being washed up and dumped there. Following this the entire group of 176 participants assembled for a group photo on the beach with all of the trash that had been collected. This was then picked up by the Mermaids Safety speed boat to add to the rest of the trash en route to Pattaya. Items found on the beach included a big stuffed teddy bear and after persevering for more than 30 minutes, students and teachers alike from NIST School in Bangkok unearthed a small boat.

After cleaning the beach the teams proceeded back to the boats and donned their diving and snorkeling gear ready for cleanup session 3. As before there was a dive and snorkeling brief outlining to each team their objectives as well as the safety procedures. Each team entered the water and endeavored to bring up even more waste from the reef below and in the shallow waters.

Once all the dive and snorkel teams had completed the final cleanup session and all heads on board the boats were accounted for, the fleet of 6 boats and its cargo (which now included a large amount of waste taken from the island) upped anchors and set about returning to Pattaya. Upon arrival at the Bali Hai Pier the trash estimated at 1.5 tons included bottles, tyres, syringes, radios, fishing nets, car batteries and many more items. The trash was off loaded on to pickup trucks and taken to the Pattaya Waste Disposal area. All of the dive gear and participants then returned to Mermaids Dive Center in Jomtien after a very rewarding day.

Later that evening a celebratory dinner was held at the Jomtien Boathouse with a prize giving and auctions of dive gear in aid of Project AWARE. The evening was opened by Wuthisak Ruemgitjagarn, Deputy Mayor of Pattaya for Environment and Health. Mr Ruemgitjagarn said “I am very proud of what you have all achieved and a good example has been set for everyone” A staggering 154,562 baht was raised for Project AWARE.

Prizes for the raffle included Scuba BCDs, watches, clothing, spa sessions and dinners generously donated by Mermaids Dive Center, Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, Dive Supply Phuket, Aquamaster Good Tour & Travel, Chacrit Muay Thai School Bangkok, Bike Zone, Aster Spring, Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya, Coca Cola, Nivea Sun, Dadriba, Tom Rosetti, Dive Junkie, Surface Marker Ltd., DAN Asia Pacific, Opera Riserva Wine Bar Bangkok, The Residence Garden and Jomtien Boathouse.

After a fantastic meal and prize giving all of the participants reiterated what a fun and rewarding day it had been. Looking at the amount of trash collected by the participants of this event and the continued concern for our underwater and beach heritage, hopefully these events will continue and we can continue to look after the treasures that exist under our oceans and bring in thousands of visitors annually.