MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The 6th Security Forces Squadron teamed with the Calypso Divers to host the first-ever scuba diving clean-up at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, March 26, 2017.
Members of the Tampa Bay community partnered with military recreational divers to help remove debris from the water around the piers on base.
During a pre-dive safety brief, Ed Krawczyk, a diving instructor at Calypso Diving, gave a short pep talk on the importance of keeping the ocean clean.
“Marine debris looks bad in the ocean and it’s harmful to the sea life and environment,” said Krawczyk. “As scuba divers, we should feel a special responsibility to conserve the ocean.”
Following the initial brief, individuals separated into groups to start searching for debris.
“We had over 30 people in the water today,” said Krawczyk. “Half were from MacDill and the other half from the Tampa community.”
Volunteers also used canoes to retrieve full bags of debris from divers and return them to the weighing station on shore.
“I thought the dive was a success overall in getting the experience of the military and civilians working together to build a partnership,” said Robert Brand, a staff instructor at Calypso Diving. “We got to bring together a sense of community and improve local waterways at the same time.”
After the dive, a volunteer weighed the debris, sorted and cataloged to put into a report for analysts to track.
“We found about six pounds of debris in the water around MacDill,” said Krawczyk. “That means the community members on base are being responsible and taking care of the water.”