It's a shore thing

In many of our local beaches, a thin layer of filmy plastic floats along the seashore, and shredded bits of rubbish trail from rocks and corals like mutated algae. Shards of glass, bottle caps and cigarette butts have blended themselves in with the sand, even in paradises like Boracay. But that’s just on the surface. Dive into the depths and you will find the same non-biodegradeable junk choking up our marine life. Thankfully, efforts are being made to clean up our oceans. Volunteer beach clean-up activities are actually fun ways to meet people and learn more about the environment.

Kiehl’s, the luxury beauty brand with a conscience, partnered up with PADI and Project AWARE for an Ocean Clean-Up Day at Mabini, Batangas. Twenty-nine family members and friends of Kiehl’s volunteered to take a trip down south. Participants received metal tongs and nets to gather litter and trash; other volunteers left on a boat to dive and collect underater garbage. Many were surprised to see the assortment of their catch — there were many plastic bags, lighters, shoes and syringes, which filled up 21 trash bags weighing 65 kg.

Photographers Carmel Valencia and Adrien Uichico were on hand to capture the cleanup with their sharp eyes and lenses, and the results were on exhibit at the Atrium in Greenbelt 5. Entitled “What a Wonderful World,” the exhibit inspires us to help preserve our natural resources and restore the damage we have done. Kiehl’s has also partnered with humanitarian hottie Brad Pitt to come up with a 100-percent biodegradable Aloe Vera Liquid Body Cleanser, the profits of which will support initiatives of the Jolie-Pitt Foundation Eco Systems.       — ANC