Once a year dive in Avalon Harbor to remove trash set for Feb. 22

AVALON—Volunteer divers will go underwater to clean up Avalon Harbor on Feb. 22 in a tradition now spanning 39 years.

The 39th annual Avalon Harbor Underwater Cleanup is expected to draw hundreds of volunteers on Sat. Feb. 22. The tradition started in the 1970s as a community effort to clean the harbor and is the only time diving is permitted in Avalon Harbor. During last year’s event, 535 participants recovered 2,740 pounds of trash.

USC’s Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber and Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies–Catalina Conservation Divers invite fellow scuba divers to join them in scouring the water around the harbor for debris and trash. Dive locations are Casino Landing, Step Beach and Green Pier.

Registration costs $55 for divers who turn in forms before Feb. 13. Dive teams with more than 10 divers can also register as a team. Land-based volunteers can register for $30. Registration can be completed online at bit.ly/39thCleanup.

Check-in for the event will begin at 7 a.m. followed by an orientation at 9 a.m. Divers will be in water until 11 a.m. The event will end with a door prize drawing and awards ceremony at 1 p.m.

All proceeds from the event will benefit USC’s Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber and Wrigley Institute Scientific Diving Program.

The event also features a t-shirt design contest with the winner getting a free round-trip ticket to the cleanup aboard the Catalina Express. The only rules of the contest are the design must be diving oriented and include no more than two colors. Designs must be sent to Julie Brown, WIES Graphic Designer, at jabrown@usc.edu by Jan. 31.

More information about the event can be found online at dornsife.usc.edu/wrigley/wies-ccd-cleanup.

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