Diventures has been making a splash around the nation in more than one way. Not only have they just opened their 8th location in Lexington, Kentucky, but they are also spreading their vision using their passion for water to change the world. One way they are doing that is through lake cleanup days.
As Diventures moves around the nation, so does the pollution in our oceans, lakes, and rivers. According to dosomething.org “approximately 40% of the lakes in America are too polluted for fishing, aquatic life, or swimming.” And according to us, that’s 40% too many. If we can’t even take care of the lakes in our backyard, how are we supposed to protect our oceans in the world’s backyard?
Latest Cleanups
Their most recent lake cleanup was at Buford Dam Beach in Georgia. The team managed to pull 176 lbs. of trash, the most interesting item being a perfectly coiled garden hose.
The Georgia team frequently partners with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Lake Lanier. The lake is well known for its aqua blue water and 690-mile shoreline. It’s important for Lake Lanier to be searched for debris often since it is open to the public and allows activities such as camping, boating, swimming, and fishing.
Diventures most successful lake cleanup to date was also at Lake Lanier. They partnered with Project Aware, a nonprofit working with diving communities to protect the oceans around the world. Their amazing team, Dive Against Debris, pulled 490 lbs. of trash off the floor.
In the last 5 years the Georgia team has pulled over 1,200 lbs of trash out of Lake Lanier.
Zoo Partnerships
Diventures has strong partnerships with their locations local zoos. In Omaha, they have partnered with the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium and Keep Omaha Beautiful to host four lake cleanup events this past summer. Each lake cleanup day was centered around a different lake in the Omaha area. Benson Park, Standing Bear Lake, Adams Park, and Levi Carter Park were the four areas volunteers covered.
“By joining in this cleanup initiative, volunteers will be making the local watershed a cleaner place, ultimately enhancing our community’s ecosystem,” organizers said in a release. “The efforts will collect debris from our local waterways before reaching the ocean.”
Lake cleanups may seem small compared to the oceans, but cleaning local waterways enhances our own ecosystems and drastically changes the quality of the waters on the coasts. There is still a long way to go before the earth is debris-free. The photo to the left pictures a sea turtle a group of divers from Diventures encountered in the Atlantic. A fishing wire was twisted around its neck and it was struggling to swim. With some effort, the team was able to cut the rope and set the turtle free. By cleaning up our lakes and riverways we can avoid items like fishing wire form traveling to our oceans.
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