July the 11th, 2022 - Jarun divers recently recovered a disgraceful 700kg of rubbish from the bottom of this popular central Zagreb lake as part of a wider environmental action - Think Green.

As Morski writes, a recently held environmental action Think Green/Misli Zeleno has had significant and positive effects on the community, working to further raise the public's general levels of awareness of the importance of environmental protection and the relationship between man and nature. This was the joint conclusion of all the participants of the 27th edition of the project organised by the Diving Club to clean the sea and various lakes throughout the Republic of Croatia.

This weekend, the action was aimed at cleaning Zagreb's much loved Jarun lake, with Jarun divers removing more than 700 kilograms of different types of waste from the bottom of the lake from six different locations.

The group of Jarun divers, 55 of them in total, found and removed tyres, sunken canoes and other such vessels, various cables, plastic bottles and cans and similar materials that have no place whatsoever in the environment or at the bottom of a lake. All of the collected waste was then properly disposed of by the CIOS group, a long-term active partner of the Think Green project.

A total of 80 Jarun divers and other volunteers participated in the action - members of the Diving Club Roniti se mora Zagreb, the Diving Club AdriatiCro Zagreb, the Public Fire Department of the City of Zagreb, KPA Drava - Varazdin, KPA Vodomar - Duga Resa, Diving Club Agramsub, DVD Legrad, the Fire Department of Sveta Nedelja and numerous other volunteers.

Support was provided by the Fund for Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency, National Geographic Croatia (Hrvatska), INA d.d., Jamnica, Mares, Garmin, Zagrebacke pekarne KLARA d.d. and the media sponsors Scubalife magazine, Scuba Skener and Morski.hr.

Satisfaction with this cooperation, which has been ongoing since the very beginning of the Think Green project, was emphasised by the editor-in-chief of National Geographic Hrvatska Hrvoje Prcic during the official opening of the action at Jarun lake, in the presence of the representative of the Mayor of the City of Zagreb, Goran Petrovic.

The results of this environmental campaign over the past decade indicate positive trends and a more responsible approach of Croatia's inhabitants towards protecting the environment, which confirms the importance of the continuous holding of educational and environmental actions, and certainly provides the organisers with an incentive for further socially responsible activities.

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As Morski writes on the 19th of October, 2020, after two days, the ecological action Think Green on the island of Vis in the town of Komiza came to an end. The Komiza Think Green action was in actual fact 20 actions in a row. The main organisers of the ecological action and holders of the Think Green project are the Diving Club Roniti se Mora and National Geographic Croatia, as well as other partners of the Komiza Tourist Board, British Embassy Zagreb, Fund for Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency, CIOS, Mares, Jamnica, Garmin, ESET NOD32, Zagrebacke pekarne Klara, Medvedgrad Brewery, Perutnina Ptuj, DVD Komiza, DC Manta, DC B-24, DC Issa, Nautical Centre Komiza, Geopark Vis, Modra Spilja, Morski HR and Scubalife.

The seabed in Komiza and Gusarica beach were cleaned by as many as 50 dedicated divers and several volunteers from along the coast, who were joined by the locals of Komiza. Over 200 bags of various waste, dozens of car tyres and batteries, fenders from boats, a hundred metres of steel cables, old pots and chairs were taken out, which were taken care of by the employees of Komiza's communal board. Approximately 1.5 tonnes of bulky waste and waste in bags were collected in total.

Diving parachutes, hooks and boats were used to extract large pieces of debris, and the situation with waste at such busy, semi-closed, micro-locations is of course not satisfactory. After such actions, no one expects the seabed to be completely cleaned, but the educational effect is immeasurable.

Several hundred kilograms of removed waste and garbage aren't negligible, but the real goal of such eco-actions is not only cleaning but also educating citizens, encouraging more responsible behaviour and pointing out the growing danger of pollution. The real goal is to act on awareness and reduce pollution, and only then remediation. The Komiza Think Green action achieved both goals in the right way.

Perhaps the biggest undertaking of this action was the waterfront in Komiza, around which almost most of the waste was removed, while mostly plastic packaging and small items were found on Gusarica beach.

''We're happy and privileged that we were able to donate part of the equipment to the diving club. The best side of this donation is that this equipment will remain in the club and will be used not only in this action on Vis but also in future actions of cleaning waste from the Adriatic sea and beaches, probably one of the most beautiful coasts in the world,'' said British Ambassador to Croatia Andrew Dalgleish.

The United Kingdom is already fully "thinking green" - fighting climate change and cleaning up the environment - and this is an important focus of our action, especially this year, as in exactly one year the UN Conference on Climate Change will be held in our country, in Glasgow. The UK has already committed to reducing carbon dioxide emissions to zero by 2050, we've banned the use of micro-plastic particles in cosmetic products, and they usually end up right in the seas and oceans. We protect our natural habitats and ecosystems in collaboration with other countries and communities. And just last week, Prince William launched the Earthshot Award, the most prestigious global award in history, which should inspire us and give even more impetus to efforts to "fix" our planet over the next 10 years, and that decade is crucial for the Earth,'' said Dalgleish.

The decisions we make and the actions we take now will have a direct impact on the environment we leave to future generations. We, each of us, are responsible for the actions that will help or hurt our environment,'' concluded the British ambassador.

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As Morski writes on the 14th of June, 2020, the Think Green ecological action on Peljesac close to Trstenik came to an end after a couple of days of demanding work. There were nineteen clean up actions in a row and the main organisers of it all, as well as the holders of the Think Green project, are as follows: Diving Club Roniti se Mora, National Geographic Croatia, Mares, Hrvatske Vode, Jamnica, Garmin, ESET NOD32, Zagrebačke pekarne Klara, Pivovara Medvedgrad, Edivo, Grgić Vina, Konoba Vitaceae, Fast Food Z, Bezek, DC Blue Planet, OPG Branko Džajić, D'Oro Grill, Caffe bar Felix, Stijena, Pizzeria Riva, Poljanić, Septem pontes, Pons, Postir and Scubalife.

The seabed in Trstenik and Zaglavak on Peljesac was cleaned up by as many as 40 divers and several volunteers, who were joined by the locals from Trstenik. Incredibly, over 400 bags of plastic waste, dozens of car tyres and batteries, parts from boats, a plastic pipe which was over two metres in length, one hundred metres of steel cables, old pots and chairs were taken out of the sea, which were then properly disposed of by the employees of the Bilan utility company. Approximately five tonnes of waste was collected in bags in total.

Diving parachutes, hooks and even boats were used to extract large debris. Mines and other explosives were found under the water, as well as a significant amount of medical waste lying around on the beach. After such actions, no one expects the seabed to be completely cleaned, but the educational effect is immeasurable.

Several tonnes of removed waste and garbage aren't negligible, but the real goal of such eco-actions is not only the cleaning and removal of the waste itself but also educating of local citizens, encouraging more responsible behaviour and pointing out the growing danger of pollution. The real goal is raise general awareness and as such, reduce pollution overall. This action on Peljesac achieved both goals in the right way.

Perhaps the biggest undertaking of this particular action on Peljesac was done on Zaglavak beach, which was covered with garbage, which mostly comes up from Albania, carried by the currents of the Adriatic sea.

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