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JROTC students took part in the beach cleaning at Cape Maeda.

The September International Coastal Cleanup is just around the corner. You can join us. We just received pledges from one command to have all of their personnel join the cleanup. Bear with us as we follow through on requests. All beach cleanups need to be led by a Beach Captain. Beach Captains and their organizations are encouraged to join the Okinawa Clean Coast Network (OCCN) will receive certificates of appreciation from the Ocean Conservancy and NPO Okinawa O.C.E.A.N.

JROTC students found a classic “Best Soda” bottle that was sold here before Okinawa’s reversion to Japan

The World Ocean Forum in Korea, Sep. 11 through 13, Okinawa will be represented by NPO Okinawa O.C.E.A.N. Specialists from around the world will gather to focus on key themes of “Marine Megatrends in the Northeast Asian Rim” hoping for a new order in the 21st Century. The keynote address is by John and Doris Naisbit, “Global Transformation and its Impacts on the Northeast Asian Rim”. John Naisbit, a former marine who also served as the Assistant Secretary of Education under President Kennedy and Special Assistant to President Johnson, invented the concept of “Megatrends”. See more at http:// www.wof.kr/eng/sub01/sub01_01.asp

He is joined by Doris Naisbitt Director of the Naisbitt China Institute in Tianjin, China and co-author of the bestseller “China’s Megatrends: The 8 Pillars of a New Society”. Captain Charles Moore of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation and who first discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch will also be attending among others.

From Sep. 22 in Japan (21st in the US and other countries) through Nov. 11th, the cleanup window is extended in Okinawa due to typhoons. Cleanups will be taking place prefecture wide on the 22nd of each month along with others from Iriomote led by the Iriomote Eco Tourism Association, Yaeyama Environmental Network and the Miyako Island Ocean Environmental Network to name a few. The Marine Debris Art Challenge guidelines will be posted on Thursday before the cleanup. No toxic or “dirty” trash should NOT be used for the art pieces. All contestants need to join the International Coastal Cleanup as Citizen Scientists, and help us tally and count what is listed in the new Marine Debris Data Cards. For DODDs teachers who would like to participate, please contact Dave Weissgerber at david.weissgerber@pac.dodea.edu English Marine Debris Data Cards are available for pickup at Cape Maeda Visitor’s Center. The new bi-lingual data cards will be available for download on Sep. 19th, Thursday before the official kickoff at Cape Maeda on Sunday Sep. 22nd at 10 a.m.

On Sep. 24 there will be a special afternoon cleanup with visiting Coast Guard Officers from Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Djibouti for the Marine Environment Protection Course sponsored by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Volunteers welcome to join us for this special afternoon cleanup. Registration is required.

For any questions please e-mail edo@okinawaocean.org