Our 50th field activity!

This year we celebrated the World Environment Day in Santorini in an activity of great importance as it coincided with the welcoming of the island in the Blue Municipalities Network and the inauguration of two Marine Litter Collection Stations, one in Vlychada and one in Monolithos. Our partner in this activity was APIVITA that supports our activities in five islands of the Cyclades: Santorini, Anafi, Tinos, Syros, and Paros through the initiative “1% for the planet”.

Our volunteer divers, thanks to their perseverance and patience, managed to collect 487 pieces of plastic, 22 wheels, and 243 metal objects from the port of Vlychada, during a two-day intensive effort in the dark waters of the fishing shelter. In addition, abandoned nets were lifted from reefs and a sediment sample was collected from the seabed of the fishing port of Vlychada that will be analyzed by the Hellenic Center for Marine Research-HCMR.

The activity also included a coastal cleaning on the beach of Monolithos where our volunteers, in excellent cooperation with the volunteers of APIVITA and the collaborating Pharmacies of the island, collected a large amount of marine litter – 86% of which was plastic! – and took samples of microplastics from the shore. Throughout the whole weekend, the TV crew of the Greek National Television (ERT1) recorded the huge effort to improve the marine environment of Santorini and raise awareness over its protection with an ultimate goal to broadcast the entire effort to the wider public through an upcoming special show.

We are incredibly happy that this iconic island, which welcomes a huge number of visitors from all over the world every year, is now not only a member of our network but also a valuable partner in promoting that a healthy marine environment is a prerequisite for economic and social stability and development. We will be back soon!