Penang's posterous

"Earth Day 2010 — Coastal Cleanup Penang: Say Yes to Cleanliness"

The Star, 05 Apr 2010
Big cleanup of Penang’s beaches on April 18

THE public are invited to help clean up Penang’s beaches on April 18.

State Health, Welfare, Caring Society and Environment Com-mittee chairman Phee Boon Poh said the ‘Earth Day 2010 — Coastal Cleanup: Say Yes to Cleanliness’ campaign would be held from 6.30am to 11am.

The areas involved are Batu Ferringhi, Tanjung Bungah and Gurney Drive.

“The objective is not just to clean up the beaches but also to increase public awareness on caring for the environ- ment.

“We are targeting a total of 2,000 participants.

“We hope to turn the cleanup into an annual affair involving an even larger crowd in the future,” he told a press conference recently.

Among the participants of the state-organised programme are the Lions Club, JCI Bayan, va-rious ADUN service centres and Universiti Sains Malaysia.

Hotels, learning institutions, associations and factories have also been invited to participate.

Participants are to gather at Paradise Sandy Beach Hotel (Tanjung Bungah), Restaurant Oriental (Gurney Drive) and Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa (Batu Ferringhi) for the clean- up.

The registration form can be downloaded from www.penang.gov.my (under the announcement segment) or e-mail cleaningbatuferringhi@hotmail.com, cleaningtanjungbungah@hotmail.com or cleaninggurney@hotmail.com.

ICC Penang in the news - join us anywhere in Malaysia next year!

The cleanups yesterday were covered by The Star and New Straits Times. This is very helpful as it will help raise awareness about marine debris issues in Malaysia and hopefully see more organisers come forward to contribute to the data gathering process next year.

So, if you are interested in organising a data-gathering cleanup in Malaysia next September as part of the International Coastal Cleanup, do write to us at coastalcleanuppenang@gmail.com

We would like to get a better picture about marine debris on our shores and any group can use the data card to collect, categorise and dispose of marine debris on any beach, mangrove or other shoreline in Malaysia.

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More photos from the cleanup

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: otterman <sivasothi@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Sep 26, 2009 at 4:49 PM
Subject: Fwd: more photos
To: coastalcleanuppenang@gmail.com


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Alison WEE <alisonwks@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Sep 26, 2009 at 4:45 PM
Subject: more photos
To: otterman <sivasothi@gmail.com>



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Alison's thoughts of International Coastal Cleanup Penang 2009

Today was THE DAY! 

The team of volunteers 
The first International Coastal Cleanup Penang (ICCP) organised by the Centre for Coastal and Marine Studies, University Sains Malaysia or CEMACS (USM). The attendance was amazing - we had representatives from the Penang National Park, Rasa Sayang Spa & Resort, and most importantly, our largest group of volunteers -- Region 1 Lions & Leo Clubs. 

Welcome and a hike
The event started off at the Penang National Park headquarters, where Dr Khairun (the Director of CEMACS) and Lion Choong Kwei Loi (District Governor of the Lions Clubs International) gave their welcoming speeches to the enthusiastic crowd. The participants were then split into two groups -- one going to Teluk Aling and the other to Pasir Pandak.

The participants going to Teluk Aling deserve a big "Hoorah", because they had to hike for 30 minutes to reach the cleanup site! Once we were there, a breifing was conducted about data collection and safety issues and the participants were grouped into teams - then the action began!

Serious about data collection

I was very heartened to see participants from all ages enthusiastically collecting trash and recording the data, as if this is a very serious business. Also, when we first arrived, everyone had the impression that the beach was quite clean.

More than the eye could see
But once we looked closer at the area above the strand line and among the bushes, we found so much trash that it kept everyone busy until the end of the cleanup.

Buried sins

At a particular spot on the beach, one participant started uncovering a plastic bag half-buried in the sand, and lo and behold, there was a lot of other trash items buried deeper down! More people came to help him with the dig and ended up finding beverage and food cans, sauce bottles, more plastic bags and other items! A half-hour later, they were still digging the same spot, picking out more and more trash. 

These items were likely buried by irresponsible picnickers who enjoyed the beach. Well, they probably took 2 minutes to bury the trash, but it took us a long time to get to it for proper disposal!

An eco-friendly meal!
After the cleanup, the participants were greeted by lunch packed in eco-friendly food container (made of recycled paper) with non-disposable utensils provided by CEMACS. I would like to compliment CEMACS for organizing the event with an eco-friendly approach. This is something that other events can also adopt. 

A smooth operation

I think we really did a great job today. Thanks to Dr Khairun, Mr Sim and the staff from CEMACS for making sure that the cleanup went smoothly and all participants are taken good care of. Also, I would like to thank the participating organizations to put in so much effort into the cause.

Every single person played a big role in today's cleanup. The beach is cleaner and we've collated all the data which will be sent to the Ocean Conservancy for action at the international level. 


See you again at ICCP 2010!

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ICC Penang advertised on USM webpage!

Usm_universiti_sains_malaysia-

http://www.usm.my/bi/berita-penuh-en.asp?id=7160

USM organises Coastal Cleanup Campaign


Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) through the Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies will be organizing an “International Coastal Cleanup (Penang)” ICCP 2009 Campaign on Saturday, 26 September 2009 at 8.00 a.m. at the Pasir Pandak and Teluk Aling Beaches, Penang.

This campaign, organized by ‘Ocean Conservancy US’ is an annual activity involving the largest number of volunteers in the world. In Penang, it is jointly organized by Coastal Cleanup, Singapore, Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research and the National University of Singapore.

Through this activity, each sample of garbage collected will be sent to Ocean Conservancy US for analysis with the aim of gathering more information in the area of marine and coastal studies.