Volunteers are needed to help teams from Clayoquot Wilderness Resort and the Ahousaht First Nation clean up tsunami debris that is washing up on the remote beaches around Clayoquot Sound, on the West Coast of Vancouver Island.
Long Beach Lodge Resort is offering a reduced rate of $160 Cdn, based on double occupancy, to volunteers who need accommodation for the weekend of May 10 – 12, 2013. Atleo River Air Service has spotted areas from the air that need cleaning up and will be providing access to remote areas via water taxis from Tofino’s Method Marine Dock at 380 Main Street with daily departures from Tofino between 9 and 11 a.m., returning between 4 and 6 p.m.
The Japanese government estimates that about 1.5 million tons of debris was washed out into the Pacific Ocean in the aftermath of the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami in northeast Japan. Much of that is believed to remain in the ocean. The most recent predictions by the Japanese government suggested that the majority of the floating debris had reached the West Coast of North America by last August. Subsurface debris – heavier objects not being propelled by wind – could start to reach this coast this June.
“We want to do a clean up now before the bigger debris arrives and before our high season kicks into gear and we are all too busy,” says John Caton, managing director of Clayoquot Wilderness Resort, an award winning sustainable wilderness resort, which regularly takes guests on hikes around Flores Island. “With the aid of volunteers we want to help maintain a delicate ecosystem and the incredible beauty of the Wildside Trail on Flores Island.”
Volunteers need to register no later than May 9, 2013 by contacting Kathy MacRae at 250-726-8556 or via email a kathy@wildretreat.com. The Flores Island Wildside Beach Clean Up day will include water taxi’s from Tofino to Flores Island and return, a traditional welcome ceremony by the Ahousaht First Nation and a West Coast salmon BBQ. Overnight accommodation at Long Beach Lodge may be booked by calling 1-877-844-7873, after volunteers have registered with MacRae.
