International Coastal Cleanup

Ocean Park has continuously demonstrated its undivided support for ocean conservation. Besides launching the “Blue Matters” conservation campaign, the Park has also organised the International Coastal Cleanup for 13 consecutive years.

This year, we held the event in Ha Pak Nai, a wetland area located on the Western side of Yuen Long, for the first time. While it is widely known for its beautiful sunset views, the mudflats of Ha Pak Nai are also an important habitat for young horseshoe crabs. On 15^th & 29^th October, a total of 577.7kg of coastal trash was picked up by groups of Ocean Park SmartFun Annual Pass holders, Drainage Services Department volunteers, and Ocean Park staff helpers. The debris included numerous plastic products and construction materials, of which the most common items collected were foam pieces and plastic bottles. This indicates that it is necessary to reduce the use of disposable plastic products in our daily lives without further delay.

Marine debris has a bad impact on marine animals’ and humans’ health. We can all play a part in protecting the ocean through simple and effective action in our everyday life. Join us by reducing your use of plastic by substituting disposable plastic products for reusable water bottles, cutlery and shopping bags.

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

Ocean Park has continuously demonstrated its undivided support to ocean conservation. Besides launching the “Blue Matters” conservation campaign, the Park has also organised the International Coastal Cleanup for 12 consecutive years.

On October 11th, a group of about 100 volunteers, including Ocean Park SmartFun Annual Pass holders, Drainage Services Department volunteers, and Ocean Park Conservation Foundation volunteers and staff helpers, went to a beach near Ocean Park to pick up coastal trash. They collected a total of 134.6 kg of trash, including plastic and foam packaging, bottle caps, construction materials and foam pieces. The most common debris they collected was foam pieces – over 1,600 pieces. The volunteers also picked up some unusual rubbish, like shoes, stationery, a Buddha statue and a wooden chair.

Marine debris causes bad impacts on marine animals and humans’ health. We can all play a part in protecting the ocean through simple and effective action in our everyday life, such as reducing our use of plastic by substituting reusable water bottles cutlery and shopping bags for disposable plastic products.

All volunteers were rewarded with certificates and snacks to appreciate their dedication of time and participation for supporting environmental protection.

 

 

 

 

 

   

Ocean Park has continuously demonstrated its undivided support to ocean conservation. Besides launching the “Blue Matters – Promoting Debris Free Oceans” campaign, the Park has also organised the International Coastal Cleanup for 11 consecutive years.

On 13th September, 70 volunteers from Ocean Park SmartFun Annual Pass holders, students and teachers from Kiangsu-Chekiang College (Kwai Chung) and staff helpers from Ocean Park went to the beach near Ocean Park to remove coastal trash. A total of 58 kg of trash was collected, such as plastic bags, plastic beverage bottles, foam and glass pieces. Foam pieces were the most common trash in the area. In addition, a two-meter long broken boat and a big oil tank were found. Ocean Park has informed Food and Environmental Hygiene Department to collect them after the event.

Marine debris causes bad impacts on marine animals and humans’ health. We hope everyone can play their part in protecting the ocean by doing simple and effective things in our everyday life, like bringing our own water bottles and cutlery when dining out. Let’s reduce the use of disposable plastic products to protect the ocean!

All volunteers were rewarded with certificates to appreciate their dedication of time and participation for supporting environmental protection.

 

 

 

 

   

Protection of Coastal and Marine Environment Took Teamwork

Ocean Park has continuously demonstrated its undivided support to the International Coastal Cleanup. 2013 is the tenth consecutive year that Ocean Park has organized this meaningful activity.

On 23rd November 2013, 100 volunteers from Ocean Park SmartFun Annual Pass holders and staff helpers from Ocean Park went to the beach near Ocean Park to remove the coastal trash. With their tremendous efforts, more than 100 kg of trash was collected in the area. The trash collected comprised of mainly plastic bags, plastic beverage bottles and construction materials. This marine debris may cause bad impacts on marine animals and humans’ health.

Ocean Park’s Deputy Chief Executive and Environmental Steering Committee Chairman, Matthias Li, said, “Ocean Park has always been a strong advocate of coastal protection and conservation in Hong Kong by supporting activities such as the International Coastal Cleanup. Every year, we collect over 100 kilograms of marine debris along the coastline and just last year, we broke our records in collecting over 300 kilograms of debris, and that was only just the tip of the iceberg. We hope everyone can play their part in protecting the ocean by doing simple and effective things in our everyday life, like bringing their own shopping bags and water bottles when going out or bringing their own food container when purchasing take-away food. Ocean Park launched a year-long campaign to promote debris free Oceans in December 2013.”

To appreciate the volunteers for devoting their time and participation for supporting environmental protection, all volunteers were rewarded with certificates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

Protection of Coastal and Marine Environment Took Teamwork

Ocean Park has continuously demonstrated its undivided support to the International Coastal Cleanup. 2012 is the ninth consecutive year that Ocean Park has organized this meaningful activity.

On 27th October 2012, 100 energetic volunteers from Ocean Park SmartFun Annual Pass holders and staff helpers from Ocean Park went to the beach near Dolphin University to remove the coastal trash. With their tremendous efforts, more than 300 kg of trash was collected in the area, including a broken canoe. The trash collected comprised of mainly Styrofoam, beverage bottles (plastic) and even construction materials. These marine debris may cause huge effects on marine animals and human health.

In the opening speech before the cleanup, Ocean Park's Deputy Chief Executive and Environmental Steering Committee Chairman, Matthias Li said, "Ocean Park has always been a strong advocate of coastal protection and conservation in Hong Kong by supporting activities such as the International Coastal Cleanup. Ocean Park also initiated the Hong Kong Plastic Pellet Patrol operation by joining hands with a host of NGOs to clear pellets scattered along the coastline of Hong Kong, in the aftermath of the recent plastic pellet incident. Ocean Park urges everyone to be responsible, help protect the environment, and avoid disposing any rubbish into the sea or on the beaches, in order to safeguard our waters and protect the thousands of marine species that depend on it."

To thank all of our volunteers for devoting their time and energy to the cause and for their support to environmental protection, an award ceremony took place after cleanup to present all volunteers with certificates in appreciation for their help.

At the end of the evening, volunteers enjoyed a delicious buffet catered by the Park.

Protection of Coastal and Marine Environment Took Teamwork

Ocean Park has continuously demonstrated its undivided support to the International Coastal Cleanup. 2011 is the eighth year that Ocean Park has organized this meaningful activity.

On 29th October 2011, 78 energetic volunteers from Ocean Park SmartFun Annual Pass holders, teachers and students from Sheng Kung Hui Tang Shiu Kin Secondary School and staff helpers from Ocean Park went to the beach near Dolphin University to remove the coastal trash. With their tremendous efforts, a total of 156 kg of trash was collected in the area, thus demonstrating our volunteers’ determination in protecting coastal and marine environments as well as spreading green awareness. The trash collected comprised of mainly Styrofoam, beverage bottles (plastic) and even construction materials.

In the opening speech before the cleanup, Ocean Park Chief Executive Tom Mehrmann said, “Coastal protection is an issue that demands our continuous attention, and Ocean Park has always been strongly supportive of community initiatives in Hong Kong such as the International Coastal Cleanup to raise eco-awareness among the public. Apart from supporting the no-straws initiative for a number of years, our “a-box-a-day” staff incentive program, which encourages Park staff to use personal lunch boxes for takeout orders from staff canteens, continues to receive strong support. From December 2007 to June 2011, over 19,600 meals were served in personal containers. We hope that our work will inspire even more people among the community to recognize the importance of conserving the environment.”

To thank all of our volunteers for devoting their time and energy to the cause and for their support to environmental protection, an award ceremony took place after cleanup to present all volunteers with certificates in appreciation for their help.

At the end of the evening, volunteers enjoyed a delicious buffet catered by the Park.

Protection of Coastal and Marine Environment Took Teamwork

Ocean Park has continually given its support to the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), which addresses global environmental issues such as marine pollution and climate change. So far, 7 successive coastal cleanups have been organized by Ocean Park, with combined efforts of more than 500 volunteers collecting over 1,700 kg of trashes. The trash collected comprised of mainly plastic materials such as bags, beverage bottles, foamed boxes and even construction materials!

This year, Ocean Park partnered with ICC global sponsor Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML) and event organizer EcoVision Asia for a coastal cleanup on Saturday, September 25th, 2010 at a beach near the Park. The coastal cleanup effort celebrated the 25th anniversary of ICC and included volunteers from Ocean Park SmartFun Annual Pass Holders, Ocean Park staff, and BofAML staff. 69 bags of trashes were collected from a beach near Ocean Park, weighing in at nearly 300kg!

On Saturday, December 4th, 2010, Ocean Park hosted the "2010 International Coastal Cleanup Awards Ceremony" with EcoVision Asia at Whiskers Theatre. Over 110 ICC team representatives, officiating guests, media partners, and celebrities joined in on the event that wrapped up the entire ICC campaign in Hong Kong. Celebrity ambassador Lisa Selesner led the awards presentation and conveyed important conservation messages. Based on Ocean Park's commitments towards marine conservation, it was awarded the silver "Greenest Team Award". Following the awards was a chic presentation of recycled eco-fashions designed by Karta Healey, featuring renowned models Jocelyn Luko and Lexa Shevchenko, encouraging the reuse of existing materials and promoting eco-friendly lifestyles.

Protection of Coastal and Marine Environment Took Teamwork

Ocean Park has demonstrated its continuous support to International Coastal Cleanup. The activity has been jointly staged by Ocean Park's Environmental Steering Committee, which oversees the Park's environmental initiatives, and the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation Hong Kong. So far, the Park has been organizing six successive meaningful cleanups, with combined efforts of more than 400 volunteers and collection of over 1,500 kg of trashes.

In previous cleanup campaigns, Ocean Park had partnered with other organizations that were enthusiastic in protecting marine environment including Coca-Cola China Limited and Hong Kong Underwater Association. Cleanup efforts not only covered beaches but also sea bed area. The trash collected comprised of mainly plastic materials such as bags, beverage bottles, foamed boxes and even construction materials!

In 2009, the majority of the participants were Ocean Park SmartFun Annual Pass holders, who took part in this meaningful global event for the first time. Ocean Park's Deputy Chief Executive, Environmental Steering Committee Chairman and volunteering enthusiast, Mr. Matthias Li, stated, "The results showed that coastal protection demands our continuous attention. With many SmartFun families participating, the event represents a great opportunity to educate our next generation. Facing global environmental issues such as climate change and pollution on marine resources, we strive to raise eco-awareness among the community through action, as well as our existing programs on environmental conservation and education".