The massive participation of citizens in the cause delights the members of the local organization Conservation Lac Brome, which ensures the health of nautical biodiversity. Everything indicates that more residents are joining the movement of the collective of divers of Let’s do our partinitiator of cleaning operations in the provinces.
“Perhaps there is some sort of shift taking place in the population becoming more and more aware of the need to get involved in the protection of endangered jewels. Nothing is taken for granted and bodies of water like Brome Lake can quickly degenerate if we are not careful. I see that people are realizing this more and more,” judges Don Joyce, project manager at Conservation Lac Brome (CLB).
The collection of waste sometimes lying at the bottom of the lake was very abundant as shown in the photos provided by the CLB. Around 420 kilograms of objects of all kinds were recovered. Among the most astonishing, we found four anchors, three ropes, pipes and a telecom wire tens of meters long.
In addition, divers found at least fifty bottles of all sizes, cans, fishing rods, metal objects, golf balls, shotgun cartridges and even used tires.
A glimpse of the beautiful harvest. (CLB)
Why not leave them there? The presence of these materials, such as plastic, has harmful consequences, particularly for nautical wildlife which ingest microparticles. The waste thus contaminates the entire food chain.
“Certain objects such as broken glass are dangerous for humans, others thicken the layer of sediment which, with mixing, releases phosphorus and promotes the proliferation of algae. A lake is not a dumping ground as the residents of many rivers in the provinces have unfortunately long believed. And we are paying the price today,” notes Jean-Pierre Pilon, president of CLB.
Divers removed several unusual objects, including a long steel wire. (CLB)
Initiatives of this kind could continue in the years to come, at least as long as the divers of the Mauritian collective Let’s do our part and its founders, Anne-Marie Lussier and David Gauthier, will contribute to the health of the Estrie lakes.
