Beyond dumpster diving

0 Comments | Press – Telegram; Long Beach, Calif., Apr 29, 2005 | by Greg Mellen

LONG BEACH While just about any Saturday can be a spring cleaning day in Long Beach, this weekend there will be cleanups with a twist.

At Naples Island, 20 divers will be scouring the canals for debris on Saturday. Also Saturday, at Colorado Lagoon, there will be a number of folks who will ignore mom’s advice about not going in the water after eating and will participate in an annual pancake breakfast and cleanup.

The event at Naples will be part of the third annual Long Beach Marine Life Survey and Underwater Cleanup. Spearheaded by local environmentalists Lenny Arkinstall and Christopher Ward, the underwater cleanup combines an educational component with some heavy lifting.

Before the actual cleaning begins, divers, their families and assorted other interested participants will take a two-hour cruise on the 90-foot research vessel Conqueror that will include some trolling and dragging of the sea floor to study marine habitats and promote watershed awareness.

When the cruise ends, the divers will disperse to the canals where they will remove trash and debris and survey the water and habitat.

Arkinstall, who gained notoriety for single-handedly removing more than 20 tons of debris from the Los Cerritos Wetlands, said he has taken some sonar readings and looked at the canals.

“There’s some chunks of stuff down there,” Arkinstall said. “I’ve seen some traffic cones and beer cans
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