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800 kilograms pulled from Lake Ontario during ‘Dive Against Debris’

Dive Against Debris held its third annual dive in Kingston on June 18-19. Global News

More than 800 kilograms of debris was taken from Lake Ontario during the two-day ‘Dive Against Debris,’ an international initiative aimed at helping keep our waters clean. The effort June 18-19 was the third annual dive to be held in Kingston.

“Water is life, and we want to make sure that it’s not polluted,” Guillaume Courcy of Neptune & Salacia Diving said.

The Marine Museum of the Great Lakes was abuzz with activity.

Saturday the Dive Against Debris’ first day was held, which involved Guillaume Courcy and his company Neptune & Salacia diving into the water at Gord Downie pier to pull out trash.

There were some surprises among the items they pulled from the pier’s waters, including a pullout couch.

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“Shopping carts, there was a bicycle, there was a lot of fishing line. So, all kinds of debris that we took out that unfortunately found its way into the water,” Courcy said.

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Courcy also said there were phones, watches, bottles, cans and more.

Courcy said what they displayed on day two of the Dive Against Debris was the educational portion, which accounted for just 10 per cent of what they pulled from the water on Saturday.

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But, it wasn’t all bad. At the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes on Sunday, families were able to visit booths by different conservation foundations to learn about our water and how to protect it.

Theodore Tugboat even stopped by for a visit and deck tour.

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James Ostler of Turtles Kingston said the kids were very engaged.

“The kids are lots of fun and they’re very interested in turtles. I think from all the movies and stuffed animals and everything else, kids know what turtles are and they’re very interested,” Ostler said.

Kids could talk with Ostler about turtle conservation, visit the diving debris, or even learn how to tie knots beside Theodore Tugboat.

The Dive Against Debris event was as much a good opportunity for families to get out and engage with the water, as it is to educate the next generation of water conservationists.

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