Volunteer divers are taking spring cleaning to the next level below the surface of Okanagan Lake.
“I’ve been down in the lake for the last two years now and the amount of trash that’s down there, the amount of dead fish that we find, bottles and garbage and everything else, it’s pretty disgusting,” said Ajay Weintz, Mind Over Matter Diving.
“I’ve seen many people step on broken bottles and cut their feet open it’s not safe for anyone.”
Weintz and his team decided to do something about it and put together a Spring Clean-Up Event for anyone and everyone to take part.
The divers are hoping to bring up at least 300 pounds of garbage from the bottom of the lake. But, Weintz says that’s only a dent in what’s still under the surface.
“We have a couple of barges set up for this year to clean that up but, for now we’re going to do the lakeshore.”
On dry land, there’s a team cleaning up the shoreline and Kelowna City Park.
“When the snow melts you kind of get that slap in the face with all the garbage, it’s hard to see sometimes,” said Kolby Corbett, activist and co-organizer.
“It’s good to have people that want to come together and just clean it up.”
This is just the first clean-up the group has planned so far. The next one will take place in fall.