Local Dive Club Win Environment Award

Eastbourne’s leading PADI scuba diving club, Planet Divers, were celebrating yesterday at the Annual Achievers Awards, run by the Eastbourne Herald newspaper.

The club’s efforts over the past four years were rewarded by winning the newly created ‘Environment’ award for helping to clear up one of their dive sites, in and around North Harbour of Sovereign Marina.

Read on for more photos of the event, and also last year’s clean-up…

The Professional Association of Dive Instructors (PADI) is the world’s leading training organisation for scuba diving and they take environmental resposibility and marine protection very seriously.

Planet Divers take this on board and participate in PADI’s annual Project Aware exercise to clean-up dive sites and increase the awareness of pollution and its affects on the local environment to the general public.

Last year the event in North Harbour coincided with the Charity Dragon Boat races, and the Club’s marquee was swamped with celebrities involved in the races, as well as local people who were happy to help out.

Each year, Planet Divers’ Project Aware event has got bigger and bigger, and has received more support from local businesses and residents.

Although the majority of Planet Divers’ members are involved in Project Aware to some extent, Claire Pooley has taken on the role of Project Leader for these activities and has been the driving force behind getting local businesses to contribute something to the event.

Watch this blog for details of further clean-ups, both in the marina and on the local beaches.

Jon Martin