BOAT CLEAN UP WITH SEA SHELTER & CLEAN 4 SHORE

Now is your chance to get involved in ocean conservation by physically removing rubbish & debris from the waterways 

Limited to 18 people unless there is huge demand and we call in an extra barge, minimum age 16 years old, all welcome who are physically able to pick up debris and pack onto the boat

Three times in the last two years we have experienced devastating floods in Port Stephens bringing copious amounts of debris don the river, not to mention the regular items on any normal day. Thankfully some of these items wash up on islands and are trapped in the mangroves and natural areas of the Bay. Let’s remove them before the next flood event dislodges them and washes them out to sea. 

A couple of years ago a study found Australia is at the top of the list of nations generating single-use waste on a per capita consumption basis, ahead of everybody including the United States, South Korea and Britain. So much of this waste ends up in our waterways and finds itself in the digestive systems of many marine animals.  

HOW TO JOIN IN:

• First register your details here. 
• Pack hats, suncream, swimwear to wear under wetsuit, & refillable drink bottle
• Meet us at the Lemon Tree Passage Boat Ramp 22 Cook Pde, Lemon Tree Passage NSW 2319 at 9am Friday to sign in, get geared up and on the boat
• All equipment provided (see below)
• Once we have grabbed as much as we can we be counting our wares for Tangaroa Blue and finishing up around 12pm 

Provided by us on the day:

• Footwear/dive boots
• Wetsuits
• Long sleeve fluro T-shirts 
• Gloves
• Socks
• Warmer wind breakers
• PFD (Personal Floatation device) 
• Sunscreen
• First aid kit including epipen
• Spare wide brimmed hats
• Litter collection bags
• Barge & qualified driver
• Staff with working with childrens check
• Water for hydrating the students in metal reusable drink bottles they will be able to keep
• A marker for writing names on drink bottles
• Mozzie repellent
• Hand sanitiser 
• A healthy lunch at the end

Please bring with you on the day

• Swimmers or underwear to wear under the wetsuits
• Towels
• Hats
• Drink Bottle

• Valuable items, items not waterproof, electronic equipment that is easily lost/not fit for purpose 

Please allow approximately 4 hours for the trip including getting changed, counting the collected items and eating lunch back at the dock. 

We will be using Tangaroa Blue's AMDI to this to track our clean up on the day and entering the data which is incredibly important for creating change in the plastic pollution arena. This data goes to the government and played a big part in banning straws, plastic cutlery and bringing in initiatives such as the Return & Earn program. WANT TO DO MORE?? 

Sign this petition: 

PROTECT AT LEAST 30% OF THE WORLDS LAND AND OCEAN BY 2030

Please sign this petition to show support for the 30x30 initiative https://worldoceanday.org/take-action/conservation-action-focus/

HUGE THANKS TO LOCAL LAND SERVICE FOR FUNDING THE PROGRAM ~ a note from LLS~

The 16th is bought to you by Clean&Cruise with LLS and Clean4Shore

An Olympian, an explosives expert, and a nurse walk onto a boat.

No joke! No pun, but there was a bunch of muddy fun. These are just a few of the people that have volunteered with Hunter Local Land Services to remove waste from our waterways.

Launching initially from Tomago Boat Ramp (and now coming to a ramp near you), Clean&Cruise events attract a broad cross-section of the community.

Fires, floods, and informal dumps over the years have seen a lot of debris entering our environment. 

Local Land Services’s Clean&Cruise program engages Clean4Shore to host marine clean ups to improve the health of our waterways, and volunteers work to remove waste from mangroves.

In 2022, just three trips had us removing 3.2 tonne of waste from the Hunter River with the help of 38 volunteer hours! This year we’re tracking well, already hosting seven trips and collecting 4.54 tonne of debris with the help of 152 volunteer hours.

There’s still a lot of work to do, so come and join us!

If you’re part of a corporate, school or community group that would like to be involved, please get in touch. We are heading to mangroves in the Port Stephens, Newcastle and Lake Macquarie region to clean up. We’d love to host your group at a place that’s important to you.

The Clean &Cruise program is funded by Hunter Local Land Services. For more information or to discuss a date for your community group, school, or corporate volunteering event, please get in touch with our Volunteer Coordinator lauren.bullard@lls.nsw.gov.au or project organising contact Wade.lancett@lls.NSW.gov.au