Community members listened to music, ate food and played raffles, all while cleaning up the beach at the 25th Annual Coastal Cleanup day in on Saturday.
The Aquatic Capitol of America organization participated in the project and was held in partnership with Roddenberry Adventures and Deep Blue Dive and Swim Center at Alamitos Bay.
Jonathan Hall, owner of Deep Blue Dive and Swim Center, said he also sees the importance of participating in beach cleanups. The center holds once every two months beach cleanups by the Belmont Pier and makes it a point of cataloging the trash that is picked up and posting it on their website.
Hall said that they run this event in hopes that others will notice the amount of trash that goes into the ocean and make an effort to participate in beach cleanups regularly.
Being the third generation living in Long Beach, Hall has experienced, first-hand, the changes that the beaches in Long Beach gone through.
“It’s our little part of awareness, and hopefully it can keep going,” Hall said.
About 43 divers took part in an underwater scavenger hunt and a Trashy Diver contest, in which they were encouraged to find unique items. Some of the activities of the day included, “Most Likely to be Found on the USS Enterprise” and “Most Unique Item.” Among some of the items that were collected were a hula-hoop, plastic cups, soda cans and food wrappings.
Registration was free, and divers were required to complete necessary waiver forms in advance, according to the event’s press release. The goal of the contest was to raise awareness about pollution in local waterways. Divers were encouraged to collect as much underwater trash, while searching for numbered flags.
Around 15 flags were sunk underwater and each number matched a winning prize. Several of the prizes included “Star Trek” memorabilia courtesy of Roddenberry Adventures, an exploration-based organization committed to discovery, education and preservation of the environment.
Founded by Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, son of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of the “Star Trek” series, the organization hopes to bring adventures together in order to help maintain the planet through recreational activities, according to the organization’s website.
Roddenberry credits his work as a philanthropist to his father’s “Star Trek” legacy. “‘Star Trek’ is more than science-fiction,” he said. “It talks about the future, where we all work together for the greater good. We all work together to preserve our planet.”
He said it is to understand that resources that can be found within the ocean and can be taken advantage of in a sustainable way. Roddenberry also said that there is a great need for maintaining the well being of the oceans and the species they house.
“We have to take care of these places,” Roddenberry said. “If we keep dumping trash in the water, it’s going to kill everything out there”