Beach combing, virtual reality and divers in Ijmuiden, the Netherlands
On July 22-25, friends and partners of Healthy Seas, Herpetofauna Foundation, We Are Nature and Ghost Diving, gathered in the Netherlands for a celebratory event.
The long programme included a 2-day cleanup of the beautiful beach of IJmuiden, stepping on the ‘MAKO’, our first ghost net recover vessel and meeting the Ghost Diving volunteers that run it, educational activities for over 60 children and a close look at Hyundai’s new Hydrogen Fuel Cell truck.
Guests included DAN Europe ambassadors Manuel Bustelo and Alana Alvarez, who stopped by during their Sustainable Tour that aims at promoting a sustainable lifestyle as well as the importance of keeping the Oceans healthy.
The event was also held in the framework of the DG Mare’s European Maritime Day in My Country, an important part of the wave of ocean awareness and activism that has been rising steadily in recent years. “Goody” bags with informational content and Healthy Seas Socks were handed out to all children that also enjoyed a state-of-art virtual reality experience about Healthy Seas’ journey from waste to wear as well as the company of Echo and Astro, the turtle and dolphin mascots.
The event wrapped up with the MAKO’s maiden ghost net recovery voyage. Volunteer divers descended to 22meters at the Breydon Widgeon wreck in the North Sea to recover a huge trawler net that was covering parts of the wreck together with pieces of recreational fishing gear, in total about 150 kgs. The MAKO was acquired back in November thanks to a generous donation by DWS. For the past months the crew carried out maintenance work while eagerly waiting for COVID restrictions to allow its 1st mission to take place.
The event was made possible also to Hyundai Motor Europe that announced its partnership with Healthy Seas back in April. They are providing funding for the implementation of Healthy Seas cleanup and education activities.
