More than a tone of waste (1,127 kg) was removed from the seabed on the Holy Island of Delos by the team of All For Blue organization in a symbolic environmental mission.
Hats, plastic bags, sunglasses, fishing gear, chairs, signs, bottles, tires, irons and masks were some of the items that the group of free divers took from the bottom of the island of Delos, while the team with the motor boat and the experienced crew from Syros transported the garbage, divers and supervisors, despite the difficult weather conditions. The emotion was evident on the faces of the freedivers who participated as this island has a special energy and is a world heritage site.
At the same time, the kid’s team of All For Blue and the Green Team of the Tseti Group carried out with great enthusiasm and energy the beach cleanup around the archeological site, removing disposable plastics, cables, ropes, tires, shoes, plastic bottles and several masks. It is worth saying that #KeepDelosBlue was implemented with the established and important support of the Group of Pharmaceutical Companies Tseti ( Uni-pharma and InterMed) and the assistance of free diving athletes.
The CEO of the Tseti Pharmaceutical Group, MSc pharmacist, President of Global Compact Network Hellas and member of the Board of SEV Mrs. Ioulia Tseti, who was present at the environmental action, emphasized: “It is the duty of all of us, businesses and citizens, to protect our planet and ecosystem. Both the health crisis we have been experiencing for over a year and a half, and the challenge of climate change, show the way to obtain a new productive model and at the same time to focus on Earth, to cultivate it and of course to protect Greek biodiversity, giving emphasis on medicinal plant crops. We at OFET, with the “SAVE THE SEA” actions and our motto “U & I Green – UNI-PHARMA & INTERMED”, we say Value for Man, Responsibility for Society and Respect for the Environment mean respect for life.”
On her side, the founder of All For Blue, Katerina Topouzoglou said “The Sacred Island of Delos is an integral part of World Culture. It is touching that the response from everyone was so great and substantial. The result of the cleanup and the amount of waste we collected was really impressive. Days like this give us great courage to continue our missions and awareness actions of All For Blue throughout Greece and to strengthen our efforts in order to be a part for a better tomorrow for our country”, stressed and warmly thanked all those who contributed to the cleaning.
“As the leader of the One Breath Freediving team, both myself and my athletes, of all ages and all levels, are first competitors, active and creative citizens and then athletes. With this mindset, any action of this kind will find us helpers, which is why we responded immediately to the invitation of All For Blue for the underwater cleanup”, said the coach of freediving athletes, Dimitris Koumoulos.
The action took place under the supervision of archaeologist Mr. Vakoulis and also by the Coast Guard, members of which took part in the beach cleanup, while a tour was preceded by the official tour guides, Maria Moutsiou and Amaryllis Grypari.
What you need to know
- The safe transport of the volunteers was done with Delos Tours with the help of Mr. Francesco Nazo and with Don Blue Yachting.
- The underwater cleanup was recorded by the submarine drone SofarOcean Trident, which the All For Blue team won in a competition abroad.
- All waste was recorded in a global database.
- Recycling bins are made from the plastic waste collected in our action, three of which are placed in different places on the island for the convenience of the visitors.
- The cleaning action was carried out as always with reusable equipment, avoiding disposable plastics.
Meet Katerina Topouzoglou of All For Blue
Katerina Topouzoglou is the founder and the soul of All For Blue and the person who got the team together. All For Blue is a Greek non-profit organization with global actions and has the mission of protecting the seas and oceans through education and experiential cleanup actions. With their ocean conservation seminars, they aim to inform future generations about the balance of marine ecosystem, to provide ways to avoid single use of plastics, and to tell the truth about what is really happening in the oceans. With beach and underwater cleanups they aim to show to the participants how to organize a cleanup, act as a team and raise awareness.
Katerina is World & European Champion in Underwater Target Shooting, a Freediving Instructor – PADI, CMAS, FDI, and a Scuba Diving Instructor – PADI. She has attended the Shark Handling course in Bahamas in 2013. She has been lecturing on Shark Awareness & Ocean Conservation seminars, as well as organizing beach and underwater clean ups, worldwide, since 2008.