Volunteer scuba divers clean up debris and unearth some treasures beneath P.E.I. wharf
CBC
Waters off the North Rustico wharf are a little cleaner now, thanks to a group called P.E.I. Scuba Divers.
The group recently completed its first organized underwater garbage cleanup at the North Shore harbour.
A handful of divers took the plunge, including Kelly Campbell, who says it’s a way of giving back to the community while also getting some time in the water.
“Fishermen are such a great resource for us, kind of giving us tips…and places where we can go dive. At times, they’ll take us out on their boats to organize some diving trips,” Campbell told CBC’s Island Morning.
“So to me, it’s nice to give back. And it’s a fun dive every once in a while to kind of dive with a little bit of a purpose.”
The group, which is made up of recreational divers, dives underneath the boats close to the wharf, no more than 20 or 30 feet deep. Each diver carries a mesh bag to collect trash, focusing on debris that sits on top of the silt at the bottom.
They found some of the trash you might expect from a fishing harbour, like broken boards or pieces from a trailer that may have broken off.
But they also recovered a fisherman’s cellphone that had recently fallen into the water.
Campbell said they even came across some interesting finds. One of the divers found a decades-old Pepsi bottle that had been etched and didn't have its label anymore.
“There's always some kind of cool treasure and old bottles and just kind of pieces of history down there that you can find as well that are kind of neat to see,” he said.
The results of the cleanup surprised Campbell.
“Over the years, you know, there might be a ton of stuff, some of it may be... silted over,” he said. “But, you know, for a working harbour, I mean, it was … surprisingly clean.”
During the cleanup day in North Rustico, warmer waters made the dive easier. At about 12 C, the divers didn’t need hoods and some didn’t even wear gloves, though Campbell still wore them for safety.
The dive season is over for the year, but Campbell said the group plans more wharf cleanups in the spring.
Montreal officials will hold a ceremony to mark the 36th anniversary of the Polytechnique massacre today.
The City of Regina's proposal to build a roadway through the McKell Wascana Conservation Park should be discarded, local conservationists say.
A holiday event that began in 2020 during the pandemic with three floats on pickup trucks has now become one of Kelowna’s big winter events, drawing thousands to the city’s downtown core.
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.
It’s been hard to keep track of how many legal challenges and active court proceedings the United Conservative government has tried to quash or pre-emptively block in the last six weeks, but let’s try to tally:
Margaret Walker, the emcee of a Waterloo vigil commemorating the victims of the Montreal massacre, doesn't feel enough is being done to reflect on the killings and address gender-based violence.
The P.E.I. Humane Society says it is doing far more fundraising than it used to, and rising expenses — including the cost of animal medications — are a big reason why.
Ottawa is staring down a court-ordered deadline to submit a new plan to reform the on-reserve child welfare system, as a group of First Nations leaders and children’s advocates prepare a competing proposal.
An underpass revitalization project that was meant to pay tribute to the people of Parkdale has instead deteriorated into “a garbage dump,” according to nearby residents.
A young man has been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm after a fire at a frat party near Western University that injured five sorority sisters, including two seriously, late Tuesday night.
The massive deal to combine one of Hollywood's oldest studios with a streaming giant hasn't even been approved yet, but it's already riling multiple related industries and politicians concerned about monopolies and media concentration.
Mi'kmaq chiefs and a former Nova Scotia justice minister are criticizing the provincial government for directing police to crack down on illegal cannabis, saying the order undermines relations with Indigenous Peoples.
For years, there has been “glaring inequity” in the way the province has allocated the millions of dollars in its county roads budget, according to Department of Transportation Minister Chuck Chiasson.