Eco dive

Trash thrown into the water won’t be hidden for long thanks to the help of some local volunteers.

The Thunder Bay Eco Divers are a non-profit group putting their love of diving to good use, scanning the bottom of local waterways and hauling out what they find.

“People are throwing toilets and refrigerators in the water. There’s no end to what people seem to think is going to be hidden under the water,” volunteer Nova Donaldson said on the shore of Lake Superior near the mouth of Current River, the group’s most recent project, Sunday afternoon.

The site was an old marina. Organizer Len Mason said they’ve already hauled out hundreds of pounds of scrap metal. There’s also a large I beam and even an old boat or car engine down there. While also being bad for the environment, stuff like that gets in the way of recreational activities on the water Mason said.

“As long as it’s not rock or wood we’ll take it out,” he said.

Around six divers were volunteering Sunday along with eight land volunteers. Donaldson, helping on land, said she wants to start taking diving lessons as soon as possible so she can get in the water.

“When you’ve seen them do this once or twice and you see the amount of junk that comes out of the lake it makes you want to do it even more,” she said.

Mason said eco diving not only helps the lake but the divers too.

“It’s a feel good project. Divers like to do stuff when they dive. It’s fun just to cruise around and look at the fish and stuff but this is a way to be productive underwater. It gives you a chance to work on your skills of search and recovery of buoyancy and how to breathe properly that takes a lot of practice,” he said.