On Sunday, July 5th, Blu Pulito 2020 took place in Porto Ceresio (VA). This event allowed the collection of chairs, cell phones, bottles, cans, glass plates, gloves, bandages, tires, lighters, candy wrappers, and snacks from the bottom of Lake Lugano. Four dumpsters filled with plastic, glass, rubber, leather, and metal waste abandoned in Lake Ceresio were also collected.
There were many positive developments in this edition, which necessarily saw the caution imposed by the Covid emergency being adopted in operations.
First of all, an eco-friendly boat was deployed, allowing the covered area to be extended to the "Spiaggia della Fiammetta," northeast of the beautiful village of Porto Ceresio.
Then an improvement in the situation was noticed under the lakeside, where in previous years the "booty" was more consistent and varied (a mortar bomb and a rifle were even found).
Clean Blue 2020
Finally, it was wonderful to watch several swimmers diving into the gulf's waters, which were declared safe for swimming again a few days ago, as well as entire families of ducks and ducklings splashing near the shore. This is another sign that the awareness-raising and conservation efforts of the GODiving and Sea Shepherd Dive Italy diving groups are bearing fruit.
So, all is well? Not quite. CNR IRSA researcher Nicoletta Riccardi took advantage of BLU PULITO to collect specimens of lake mollusks and noted the appearance, in numerous colonies, of non-native species, that is, species not characteristic of the basin. These varieties, which last year, were not present in detectable quantities during sampling, are a potentially harmful phenomenon for the local fauna and will be investigated further with specific research.
GODiving and Sea Shepherd, the organizers of the initiative, extend their gratitude to the twenty divers and fifty volunteers who worked on land and from boats. Sincere thanks to those who participated also came from the Mayor of Porto Ceresio, Jenny Santi, and the sponsors who believed in the project (Equity Factory, Green Energy, LASI, and OpenjobMetis). Among the organizations that contributed to the initiative's success are the Ceresio Piano and Ghirla Lake Basin Authority, Scubaportal, VareseMese, the Ceresio Fishermen's Union, the Porto Ceresio Rowing Club, the Polytechnic University of Milan, the Sailing Club, the Bersaglieri Association, and the National Alpine Association.
The awareness-raising work to protect freshwater environments and sensitize citizens and tourists regarding the threats suffered by pre-Alpine lakes continues until the end of July with the second part of the series of free webinars broadcast on https://www.twitch.tv/godiving: Thursday and Sunday evening appointments are on www.godiving.it
