On a muggy day in October, 154 volunteers from 21 different organisations pitched in to collect 1669kgs of debris from coastal areas around Darwin Harbour, from Wagait to Casuarina Coastal Reserve. Some went on foot, some by boat, and some by jet ski! After a hot morning cleaning up our beaches and waterways, the debris was brought back to Fishermans Wharf to be weighed and sorted by the Larrakia Rangers and Tangaroa Blue.
The majority of the items collected included metal bottle caps, lids and pull-tabs, glass, plastic food packaging, plastic drink bottles and plastic lids, and rubber tyres! 21 rubber tyres alone were collected from the Palmerston Boat Ramp, Indicating potential illegal dumping.
However, the good news is that there was 300 kgs less debris collected compared to last year!
The Darwin Harbour Clean Up is a long running community clean up, currently coordinated by the Larrakia Rangers. The major partners this year included SeaLink, INPEX, Santos, City of Darwin and Territory Natural Resource Management who contributed both funds and volunteers to make the day possible. Other organisations that contributed time and hands included the Amateur Fisherman Association NT, Australian Border Force, Museum and Art Gallery of the NT, NT Fisheries Division, Royal Australian Air Force, Knucky Womens Centre, Belyuen School, Wagait Council, Kenbi Rangers, Northern Territory Parks & Wildlife Service, Clontarf Academy, STARS Foundation, Paspaley, Surf Life Saving NT, Northern Territory Water Police, and Darwin Port Authority.
Tangaroa Blue is happy to continue to support such a great community clean up event!
Photos by Lucyna Kania www.nlwild.com
