HELP US MAKE THIS THE LAST - SIGN UP A TEAM TODAY
TAKE ACTION. YOU CAN STOP THE FLOW OF TRASH.
JOIN THE HONG KONG COASTAL CLEANUP CHALLENGE!
From September 19th to October 19th, Hong Kong to Honolulu, Boston to Bangladesh, hundreds of thousands of people in more than seventy five countries will remove millions of kilos of trash from waterways and beaches all over the world during Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup (ICC).
Grocery bags, cigarette butts, plastic bottles and candy wrappers. They don't just fall from the sky, they drop from our hands. And what washes up on shores is only a fraction of what winds up in the water, threatening marine life and damaging ecosystems every day.
The ICC is Starting A Sea Change in the way people think of a healthy planet. By cleaning up trash, they're doing their part to clean the ocean and a clean ocean is more resilient to the effects of climate change, pollution, overfishing, and habitat destruction.
IT'S TIME YOU JOINED THE CAUSE!
During the cleanup challenge, thousands of teams of energetic volunteers descend on beaches, lakes, rivers, and streams all over the world to clean up trash and debris on land and in the water.
The work of the ICC participants is inspiring a sea change, inspiring and empowering people everywhere to take responsibility for a clean ocean, not just on a single September day, but every day throughout the year.
Ecovision Asia and Ocean Conservancy invite you to be part of the Sea Change by joining so many others from companies, school and community groups, chambers, organizations, dive clubs and families just like yours. NO special skills are required, no fees required; just your desire to help.
THERE IS NO TIME TO WASTE. ACT NOW.
The proof is in the numbers 2007 Global Stats
People: Engaged more than 378,000 people
Pounds: Cleaned up more than 6 million pounds of trash
Miles: Covered more than 33,000 miles of beaches and waterways
Reach: Expanded into 48 states and 76 countries on six continents
Ecovision Asia's objectives for the ICC are essentially threefold:
- to cleanup Hong Kong's coast line and waterways of litter
- to collect the data on the litter we find in an effort to track the source of marine litter, so that it can be minimized, and ultimately, prevented and,
- to educate the public of all ages about the importance and benefits of community environmental action and pollution prevention
Since its inception in Hong Kong, the momentum behind the HKICC has increased annually. From less than 100 participants in 2000 to more than 3000 hard working volunteers in 2007 and 2008 — how many will participate in 2009? Green Council and Ecovision Asia, as joint event coordinators, plan to make it Hong Kong's largest environmental conservation programme.
Special thanks go to all our sponsors, supporting organizations and media partners who help make this event possible - they fuel us with food and beverages, supplies and other gifts to keep all you hard working volunteers motivated and energized for your task. We dearly appreciate everyone's contributions and commitment to a cleaner marine environment!
The program welcomes the participation of any individual or group in a variety of roles. We're currently seeking volunteer Zone and Site Captains, who can help to coordinate the cleanup. We are also keen to collaborate or contribute to education programmes based on information from the cleanup. So, please do contact us!
Lisa Christensen
Founding Director
Ecovision Asia
Official Organisers: EcoVision Asia, Ocean Conservancy
Supporting Organisations: Bloom, Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, InterCham
Sponsors: CLSA, Grosvenor, Sunseeker
Creative Partner: Mirror Productions
Sponsors: Dragon-i, Gammon, Havaianas, Pure Fitness, Wallem
Media Partners: National Geographic Channel, South China Morning Post