Charleston Waterkeeper took to the waters this morning to respond to a report of three abandoned boats in Hobcaw Creek. We’ve recently teamed up with a number of state-wide groups and agencies to train citizens to be spotters of marine debris. During today’s patrol, we recorded the necessary data so that DNR can appropriately address the derelict vessels. The good news was that the boats pictured above still had detectable hull numbers (which can be traceable) on their transoms; however, one of the three boats we documented was nearly under water and had no readable identification number. Enjoy your Labor Day weekend.
On September 8th the team from Blue Legacy will be coming through Charleston in their 45′ biodiesel bus. The crew, lead by Alexandra Cousteau, have reached out to us as a partner organization to plan a community day in Charleston.
We’re still working on the details, but we’ll keep you posted as soon as more information develops…
A friend of ours just shared this video with us, and we thought we’d return the favor by sharing it with all of you. What will you do to reduce your plastic use? Leave your comments below…
Sounds like a win/win, doesn’t it? Yup! We couldn’t agree more…
Our buddies and Lowcountry residents, Band of Horses, will be playing a home show on October 29, 2010 at the North Charleston Coliseum; to show their support for clean water and strong communities, they’re going above and beyond and are donating all proceeds from a ticket auction they’re having to Charleston Waterkeeper. Band of Horses is auctioning off the front two rows of their Charleston show (auction ends on July 30, 2010, so hurry up and put your bid in here!).
We can’t thank those guys enough for their support and are so excited for the show. We hope to see everyone there!
Last year, with help from volunteers, Charleston Waterkeeper removed over a half-a-ton of trash from Morris Island on the 5th of July, left over from visitors the day before. This year, the situation was much different!
A big thanks to Live 5 News and Nicole Johnson for doing this piece on our cleanup efforts…
We’d like to think that the improved behavior was a product of a variety of influences: increased advocacy, heightened awareness, improved enforcement, and a greater sense of pride and responsibility. Thank you to the hundreds of people who enjoyed their 4th of July on Morris Island this year and who acted responsibly and respectful to one of the greatest rights all of us have – a right to clean water!
Waterkeepers from around the world surround the Waterkeeper "Sturgeon" logo in La Paz, Mexico at the annual Waterkeeper conference.
Last month nearly 200 Waterkeeper programs from 17 different countries convened in La Paz, Mexico for the annual Waterkeeper conference. Our annual conference provides an opportunity for Waterkeepers from around the world to network with one another and to learn from the many successes and challenges each of us faces worldwide.
The format of the conference is very impressive – guest speakers present the entire week on topics from fund-raising to water quality litigation. As a result, the conference is a wonderful opportunity to learn from the best of the best. I made great use of my time by attending a number of presentations on pertinent issues impacting Charleston’s own waterways (i.e. cruise ships, boatyard pollution, stormwater runoff, and industrial polluters). I even took the initiative to give my own presentation, Create. Distribute. Engage. – a panel about creating captivating content (i.e. educational, entertaining, engaging, inspiring, etc.), distributing it to your community, and engaging with supporters to further your mission and cause.
Being amongst some of the most passionate, dedicated, and creative advocates in the world is a powerful thing. I am constantly reminded how lucky we are to be a part of the Waterkeeper Alliance! My time with other Waterkeepers is incredibly valuable and is something that will aid Charleston greatly in our dedicated fight to protect our own waterways.
Charleston Waterkeeper, Cyrus Buffum, with Former President of Mexico, Vincente Fox, at the annual Waterkeeper conference.
After waaay too many months without stickers, we’ve finally replenished our source! With the help from our friends at Limelight Custom Sign Company, there won’t be a shortage of these puppies any time soon.
As a heads up, we’ll be sending all existing members a sticker in the mail shortly (sorry for the delay!!). For those of you who aren’t members, stay tuned as we’ll be announcing via Twitter, Facebook, etc. ways you can get your hands on the hottest product around!
Shortly after we launched the Save Our Gulf campaign, longtime Waterkeeper supporters, Teva (oh, and by the way, it’s “Tev-a,” not “Tee-va”), jumped on board in support of the campaign by donating $100,000 to Waterkeeper Alliance to help our Gulf Waterkeepers on the front lines. As a way to promote the campaign, we made a short PSA with help from Kick Kennedy, Amy Acker, and Band of Horses. (You’ll notice a familiar song in the background.) And now for the PSA…
And here’s a 30-second version…
If you haven’t done so already, please consider making a donation to Save Our Gulf.
Have we learned from last year? Last 4th of July, citizens took to Charleston’s waterways, its beaches, and rivers to enjoy our Independence Day to its fullest. Unfortunately, a number of bad actors lost sight of the meaning of the 4th of July and left a path of destruction in their wake. Last year on July 5, 2009, Charleston Waterkeeper, alongside a number of dedicated citizens and volunteers, removed nearly a half-a-ton of trash from Morris Island, left over from party-goers the day before. Here’s a video from our cleanup:
The 4th of July is a day to celebrate and give thanks to our freedoms, our rights, and our independence. Charleston Waterkeeper is dedicated to protecting the public’s right to clean water – one of the most fundamental rights we have. Pollution, however, threatens this right and prevents us from fishing, swimming, and playing on, in, and around our waterways. As a result, Independence Day is perhaps one of the greatest day to reflect on and appreciate our right to clean water. By trashing our beaches, or any one of our natural resources for that matter, we are bltantly sending a message that we don’t appreciate the rights and the privileged opportunities we have – an ironic thing to do on the day known for the celebration of our rights and our freedom.
We have no doubt that the level of responsibility (and appreciation) practiced this 4th of July will be significantly greater than what we saw last year – both on Morris Island and on Folly Beach. However, in the event that some people still don’t get it, we’ll be heading out, once again, to Morris Island on the morning of July 5th to clean up our sandy shores. We’re inviting all of you to join us (hopefully there won’t be much to clean!) on Monday morning at 10am. Our good friends from Charleston Explorer will be on hand to help remove the trash from the beaches back to the mainland.
Want to join us? Here are the details:
When – July 5, 2010 10am – 12:30pm
Where – Morris Island
Why – To pick up trash (and to enjoy beautiful Morris Island)
Don’t have your own way to get out to Morris? There will be limited space available on the Charleston Explorer, but you *must* contact Natalie at natalie@charlestonwaterkeeper.org to save a spot ahead of time. (The boat will be leaving from Sunrise Park in James Island at 9:30am to head to Morris Island.) We’ll be providing bags and gloves for those willing to lend a helping hand.
After the beach has been swept spotless, our friends at Midtown Bar and Grill will be rewarding all volunteers with discounted pitchers of goodness from 5-7pm.
