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Ocean Clean Up Activities
The Strandloper Project coordinates two volunteer based cleanup activities, namely reef clean up dives and beach cleanups.
Cleanup activities are arranged during spring low tides and are dependent on weather and ocean conditions.
Reef Clean Up Dives.
The Strandloper Project initiated three survey transects in the Garden Route Between Gericke's Point and the Knysna Heads. Each site attracts a different calibre of core fishermen distinguished by socio economic differences.
We conduct our recovery dives when dive conditions are suitable and try to plan for a weekend dive.
Dive Conditions.
The water conditions in the Garden Route are variable with a range of temperatures between 14Deg C and 23Deg C with a mean of 19DegC
Visibility is generally poor, at about 2m to 3m with infrequent spells of good viz ranging between 6m and 10m
Currents are the primary safety concern and we will assess the feasibility of a dive before committing to a dive.
Dive Gear.
Equipment required for the dives include a mask, snorkel, fins and dive gloves. A 3mm or 5mm wet suit is advisable and a weight belt to balance your buoyancy.
A dive knife with a wrist tether is not necessary, but does help.
We are slowly building up spare sets of equipment for once off volunteers, but if you want you help more regularly it is best that you have your own set of equipment.
Remote Sites.
We are continually wanting to expand our database of accumulation rates of fishing debris,extent of reef damage and incidents of ghost fishing and entanglements.
If you have a popular fishing site close by that you would like to head up some survey dives with a team, contact Mark to discuss what information to collect.
Data collection sheets :
We have created a Cloud based data sheet to be used by groups wanting to organise clean up dives and share the information of what they have recovered. You can access the data sheets by clicking on the button below.
Beach Cleanups
In conjunction with our reef clean up dives, we organise a monthly beach cleanup. The beach cleanup involve collecting all washed plastic pollution while simultaneously conducting a series of 'Trashy 20 Transect' surveys to measure the density and distribution of micro plastic on the beach.
Trashy 20 Transect
The Trashy 20 Transects are a survey and collection of all plastic pollution along a 10m x 2m transect and categorizes the most commonly collected 20plastic items that wash up on the beach. All plastic collected are classed and counted into the 20 categories of plastic and recorded on our survey app developed on the Cyber Tracker platform.
International Beach Cleanup
Strandloper project participates in the annual International Beach Cleanup event, cleaning up from Swartvlei Beach to Gericke's Point. Volumes of plastic and the types of plastic are recorded and submitted to the central coordinating JOC.
Join in and Make a Difference to the Environment.
If you would like to volunteer for the Strandloper Project, we have a Whatsapp Group to broadcast when we plan to dive.
How to Join
- If you would like to join the group send a text to 082 213 5931 with your name
- email Mark with you mobile number so that we can add you to the group. Most notices of a cleanup are sent out 4 to 5 days before the cleanup join directly :
- Click on the link our Whatsapp Group link and join directly : Volunteer Now
- Scan the QR Code in the side column
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