Our land is filled with thrash, but little do we know, our sea is worse! As witnessed by 43-year-old Monica Chin and her Trash Hero Borneo volunteer team, she shared her experience being underwater, “I saw tonnes of trash! Plastic bottles, food packaging, plastic bags, diapers were among the trash! I was shocked to the point of crying as the waste can be seen as deep as 27 – 37-metre depth on the sea floor.”
Being a diver, Monica co-founded Trash Hero Borneo in Sabah on February 27, 2017, after she joined a beach cleanup in Krabi, Thailand during her dive trip back on 9 Sept 2014.
Monica saw the opportunity to create awareness among the community in Borneo. The non-profit organisation not only pick up trash along the coastal lines but they also dive every week to pick up trash under the sea at Sepanggar Island in Sabah. Apart from that, the volunteering group also bring communities together to clean and reduce waste. Much of their methods include:
Action and Awareness. Picking up trash. Whether a cigarette butt on the sand or 2000 kilometre from an island beach — if they see it, they clean it! And they also motivate others to do the same. By spending 2 or 3 hours together picking up trash, people can gain a profound understanding on the consequences of being careless about waste.
Education. The group actively engage children through their multilingual kids’ programme, connecting environmental values with hands-on experience of the impact that trash has on the local and global environment.
Sustainable Projects. They create long-term programmes that help communities to remove and better manage their waste, and strategies that will reduce the amount of waste being produced in the future.
Inspiration. Trash Hero Borneo also motivates people to become Trash Heroes in their everyday lives. With consistent positive messages and the philosophy of “small steps”, they remove the barriers to change. More and more Trash Hero volunteers have gone home to make their own heroic clean-ups around the world.
Marine and environment conservationist Monica disclosed however that the only way to save the sea from trash is to not throw trash into the ocean. “I kept talking to many islanders, coastal community villages, share my experiences, shown them videos and the impact to their livelihood as well as their future generation. As a diver, I start picking up trash whenever I saw them during my dive trip. I would help the dive centre, the resort, community or village to give awareness talk and help organise cleanups activity, with a sustainable solution. I believe everyone plays an important role in conserving the quality of our marine environment.”
But why is it so important to save the marine life? American explorer, Dr Sylvia A. Earle said, “No water, No life, No blue, No green. Even if you never have the chance to see or touch the ocean, the ocean touches you with every breath you take, every drop of water you drink, every bite you consume. Everyone everywhere is inextricably connected to and utterly dependent upon the existence of the sea.”
When asked why was she so passionate about what she is doing now, Monica answered simply, “Because I do not like trash. I do not like a dirty, messy and smelly place.”
To her, action speaks louder and she wants to live as an example. “I cannot stand to see trash along the road or trash around a beautiful place like our Borneo.” Hence, when she picks up trash, she felt happy as she said that the way to change a mindset is to believe that each trash is our responsibility.
“Our planet did not give us trash, but a beautiful environment. Instead, we are the one who creates those trash. So, there is nothing wrong to keep our planet clean!” she opined.
Monica who wanted to do more for mother earth resigned from her position in Trash Hero Borneo as volunteer leader early this year to fully utilise her passion in a bigger platform called the Ara Dinawan Research Education Conservation Center (ADRECC).
ADRECC is an environmental conservation organisation consisting of affordable accommodations, education section, research and work station as well a dive centre that is in the midst of setting up. Its Board of Director comprise experienced scuba divers and nature lovers, all with the same dream to contribute and preserve marine life and green environment.
Located 30 minutes drive from Kota Kinabalu City to Kinarut, Sabah and a 15 minutes boat ride to Ara Dinawan Island, Sabah, the centre is easily accessible.
ADRECC is not only organising conservation project on the island but also assisting local community on related project, awareness talk, education and project lead. Among their focus on marine conservation are coral planting and nursery, sea turtle hatchery, seagrass and seaweed planting, reef check and many others.
For more information on ADRECC, curious minds can visit their Facebook and Instagram accounts at @adrecckk.
As for Monica, her 2019’s journey does not stop there. She will be giving a talk on marine conservation – plastic pollution related at Suntec, Singapore on April 11 to 14. The event organised by The Asia Dive Expo (ADEX) ‘by divers, for divers is staged annually with each year dedicated to different marine life forms. This year, the exhibition focuses on the ocean’s plastic-free future.
