Now in its 4th year, this family-friendly event is an opportunity for the public to take action in the protection of our Great Lakes freshwater resource, to celebrate our waterways, and to engage with community organisations working to protect and advocate for the health and wellbeing of our local ecosystem. Demonstrations and performances are just of the engaging activities planned for this year’s event – stay tuned for more updates!

Known previously as PADI AWARE – Dive Against Debris® – Kingston, this event is in partnership with Neptune & Salacia Diving and Swim Drink Fish.

At its core remains the community action shoreline cleanup known as PADI AWARE – Dive Against Debris®* that sees Kingston participate in an international initiative supporting water conservation efforts and take part in World Ocean Day (June 8th) initiatives. But, just because ‘dive’ is in the name, doesn’t mean this event is restricted to volunteer divers.

In order to be successful, we need twice as many surface support volunteers on land than divers in the water. Therefore, the support of non-diver volunteers is critical. Shore support volunteers pick up the debris bags from divers and help sort, weigh and record debris collected. The data collected is then shared to help educate and advocate for cleaner waters. In 2022, we removed over 1,700lbs of debris from the water off of Gord Downie Memorial Pier!