hOME

Come and join with us to ''clean-up the med'' on 28,29,30 May 2004

 

Introduction:

On Friday the 28th of May our class(10th class of Gimnazium) went to Izmeta to participate in the action 'Clean up the Med' under the supervision of our teacher proffesor Dubravka Cetiniæ. We were all very excited to go so we all came to the bus station in the exception of a few people which were late and so picked up by the way.

We came there to the beach at about 7:30. We got settled and soon started to clean the beach.

There was alot of rubbish mainly bottles which the sea trew out on the marble beach.

But soon mainly all of it was gone and we were left without plastic bags to put it all in.

So we split up some swam some ate their lunch waiting for more plastic bags to be brought by the local policeman.

There was a lot of wood so we decided to start a fire and burn it all.

In the meantime we played several games to kill the dullness of the nice, calm, morning in a quiet bay.

In the end of the day unleast for us at 12 o'clock we left the beach perfectly clean of all rubbish which could be found.After a few days we found out that EKO  came and collected all the bags with the rubbish which we coolected.

 

About the action ''Clean up the Med'':

This is an action started by Legambiente, Italy and EEN(Euro-Mediterranean Environmental Network) under the sponsorship of UNESCO-SEMEP.

This is the 10th year of this brilliant project in which many countries on the Mediterranean will participate(Albania,Algeria, Belgium, Cyprus, Croatia, Egypt, France, Greece, Jordan, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Macedonia, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Palestine. Portugal, Spain,Tunisia and Turkey.

A large number of volunteers equipped with gloves, rakes and plastic bags will clean up more tha 800 beaches along the Mediterraneanshores. They will work to take away many tonnes of rubbish which has piled up throughout the year.

This cleaning action wants to show that the quantity of rubbish could decrease if every local administration arranged for a seperated waste collection plan as provided by the European Commission regulations and national legislation

 

The Mediterranean:

Is the largest enclosed sea in the world, with 46,000km of coastline. It has the world's second highest percentage of endemic species. The Mediterranean marine fauna, particularly pelagic forms such as anchovy, swordfish and tuna, has for millenia been central to the nutrition of human communities in the Mediterranean region, and dolphins and sea turtles have assumed a deep cultural significance.

Nowadays sea turtles, Mediterranean Monk Seals and certain whales and dolphins, are at a great risk of extinction in the basin because of the past hunting and widespread habitatmodification.

 

Our Beach:
Beach Aesthetics

Name of the beach:

Izmeta

Date:

28.05.2004

Analysis carried by:  

A. Physical Factors

1

2

3

4

5

1. Widht of the beach

Narrow<10m

10-30m

30-50m

50-100m

Wide >100m

2. Beach material

Cobbles

Sand/cobbles

Coarse san

 

Fine sand

3. Condition of the beach

Erosional

 

Stable

 

depositional

4.Sandsoftness

Hard

 

 

 

Soft

5.Sea temperature

Cold

 

 

 

Warm

6. Air temperature

Cold

 

 

 

warm

7.Number of sunny days

Few

 

 

 

Many

8. Amount of rain

Large

 

 

 

Small

9. Wind speed

High

 

 

 

Low

10. Size of breaking waves

High/danger

 

 

 

Low/safe

11. Number of waves

0

1-2

3-4

5

6+

12. Underwater beach slope(bottom)

Steep

 

 

 

Gentle

13. Longshore current

Strong

 

 

 

Week

14.Rip currents present

Often

 

 

 

Never

15. Color of sand

Grey

Black

brown

Tan

White/pink

16. Tidal range

Large<4

3-4m

2-3m

1-2m

Small<1

17. Shape of the beach

Straight

 

 

 

Pocket

18. Bothom condition in bathing area

Rocky,mud

 

 

 

Fine sand

Sum

(X x 1+Y x 2+.....Z x 5)

1 x 1

2 x 2

1 x 3

6 x 4

7 x 5

Total score for

physical factors

(sum of all the score

Min(18)____67____Max(90)

 

B. Biological factors

1

2

3

4

5

1. Tubidity of the sea

Turbid

 

 

 

Clear

2. Sea color

Grey

 

 

 

Blue

3. Foating/suspended/human material

Plentiful

 

 

 

None

4. Algae in seawater(amount)

Infested

 

 

 

Absent

5. Red tide

Common

 

 

 

None

6. Smell(e.g. seaweed, rotting fish)

Bad odour

 

 

 

Fresh salty air

7. Biodiversity(e.g. shore birds)

None

 

 

 

Plentiful

8. Pests(e.g. mosquitos,ticks,flies)

Common

 

 

 

None

9. Sewage/runoff oufall on the beach

Several

 

 

 

None

10. Seaweed/jellyfish on the beach

many

 

 

 

None

Sum

(X x 1+Y x 2+.....Z x 5)

 

1 x 2

 

 

9 x 5

Total score for

biological factors

(sum of all the score

 

Min(10)___47___Max(50)

C. Human use and impacts

1

2

3

4

5

1.Litter and trash(paper,plastic,rope)

common

 

 

 

Rare

2.Oil and tar bally

Common

 

 

 

Rare

3.Glass and rubble

Common

 

 

 

Rare

4.Views and vistas(local scene)

Obstructed

 

 

 

Unobstructed

5.Views and vistas(far vista)

Confined

 

 

 

Unconfined

6.Biuldings/urbanism

Overdeveloped.

 

 

 

Pristine

7.Access

Limited

 

 

 

Good

8. Misfits(nuclear power plants...)

Present

 

 

 

None

9.Vegetation/trees(nearby)

None

 

 

 

Many

10.Well kept grounds/promenades/nature

No

 

 

 

Yes

11.Amenities(showers,chairs,bars)

None

 

 

 

Smoe

12.lifeguards

None

 

 

 

Some

13.Safety record(deaths)

Some

 

 

 

None

14.Domestic animals(dogs)

Many

 

 

 

None

15.Noise(cars,highways,trains)

Much

 

 

 

Little

16.Noise(crowds,radios)

Much

 

 

 

Little

17.Presence of seawalls,riprap,concrete

A lot

 

 

 

None

18.Intensityof beach use

Overcrowded

 

 

 

Ample space

19.Off-road vehicles

Common

 

 

 

None

20.Floatables in water(garbage)

Common

 

 

 

None

21.Public safety(crime,pickpockets)

Common

 

 

 

Rare

22.Competition for free use of the beach(e.g. fishermen,boats...)

many

 

 

 

Few

Sum

(X x 1+Y x 2+.....Z x 5)

3 x 1

 2x 2

 

2 x 4

15 x 5

Total score for

Human impact factors on the beach

(sum of all the score

Min(22)___90____Max(110)

Total Beach Score   204

 

(Sum of all the total scores for all the factors) 

MIN(50)____________________204____MAX(250)

 

Notes,comments,propasals:

 

ANALYSIS OF COLLECTED RUBBISH

Class

Number:

Domestic:

Foreign:

PLASTIC

Plastic bags

4

 

 

Plastic bottles

1400

 

 

Plastic straws

 

 

 

Plastic syringes

 

 

 

Plastic plates and eating utensils

 

 

 

Plastic toys

 

 

 

Fishing nets, lines and ropes

2

 

 

METAL

Bear and soda cans

40

 

 

Food cans

4

 

 

Bottle caps

21

 

 

Wire

10

 

 

Pieces of metal

9

 

 

PAPER

Paper packs for sodas

 

 

 

Wrapping paper

 

 

 

Paper cups

 

 

 

Newspaper

 

 

 

Cigarette packs

 

 

 

Cigarette butts

 

 

 

GLASS

Bear, wine and soda bottles

             29

 

 

Pieces of broken glass

14

 

 

Eating glass utensils

 

 

 

POLYSTYRENE

Serving trays

 

 

 

Glasses

 

 

 

Packing boxes

482

 

 

Saucers

 

 

 

WOOD

Pieces of driftwood

1000

 

 

Wooden boxes

4

 

 

Wooden transport supporters

 

 

 

RUBBER

Rubber gloves

 

 

 

Preservatives

 

 

 

Car tires

 

 

 

OTHER

Tar balls

2

 

 

Oil slicks

 

 

 

Pieces of brick

 

 

 

..................Other

200

 

 

 

Sketch/Photograph

Conclusion:

That day we didn't a huge job(we did clean the beach) but it is important that we did it.

If every person would go and clean the beaches like us our shores would be way more cleaner. But that is impossible. What is more possible is that we should learn that throwing rubbish in the sea isn't a nice habit, not only because it is bad to see someone throwing it but because it always in some way gets back to us and we allways think where did this come from.

All over the world there are millions of tonnes of rubbish on our beaches but pople don't care. Little acts like this can help us to live in a nicer, healthier cleaner world

 In the end we have to mention the saying that Mother nature can live without humans, but we can't live without her

top