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All on Koh Tao, one of Thailand's most beautiful islands
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Koh Tao Clean Up Turtle Island gets a spring clean and provides a good excuse for a big party Text: Kate Crosman Photos:
Chris Clark It would seem that after years of talk, the Koh Tao community has finally proven its willingness to put its money where its mouth is. The events of February 7th 2004 were more than just a party (the island’s always been fairly good at those!) – it was a packed schedule centered around forging community ties, building community spirit and raising awareness of the need for environmental conservation locally and globally. The festival was organised by the recently formed Koh Tao Dive Operators Club, participating sponsors included PADI, the TAT, ScubaGlobe and Badalveda Diving Medicine Network, with refreshments provided by Heineken, Carlsberg and Singha. The First Annual Koh Tao Festival Underwater World Day came off, well, swimmingly. The fairground that sprang up overnight on a stretch of beach near Mae Haad featured all the best aspects of carnivals east and west. Hordes of children whipped themselves into a frenzy at the chance to throw a dart, pop a balloon and win a stuffed toy. Dr Suriya Na Nagarta was on hand to give free ear examinations from Badalveda Diving Medicine Network and, most notably, WildAid provided an 18 metre inflatable whale shark. The environmental charity’s booth was a hotbed of environmental information throughout the day; ScubaGlobe’s Paul Lees took to the stage to thank WildAid for their participation in the festival and to re-emphasise the importance of conserving all our marine resources, in the present and for the future. His sentiments were echoed by Sharlyn Sazawa of Big Blue Diving Centre, the day’s hardiest worker, who added “All of Koh Tao’s diving community would love to establish a lasting relationship with WildAid; this event is hopefully the first step.” The day began with a Buddhist blessing and opening remarks from the governor of Surat Thani province, after which teams of volunteers from the island’s dive shops scoured Koh Tao’s roads and beaches for rubbish, filling a mountain of bin liners with discarded plastic bags and bottles, empty containers and cans, cigarette butts, and the various detritus of a rapidly developing resort area. After a break for lunch, the fun really kicked off – the afternoon’s sports competitions included breath-holding, skin diving and snorkelling competitions, kayaks and barrel races, greased pole climbing, and both water and blind-boxing matches. As the sun sank over the sea and the pile of prizes shrank, the beer flowed freely and the festive mood swelled. Members of the KT-DOC enthused over all the goodwill in the air. Michael Spjuth of Big Blue and Mark de Burgh of Master Divers agreed – “it’s fantastic to see everyone working together” and “there’s a great community spirit here today”. The celebration was topped off with an evening stage show, including live music, magic acts, dancing, singing, a shadow puppet show, and finally the crowning of Miss Diveshop 2004. Early in the day, Jonas Samuelsson of Ban’s
Diving expressed this hope: “It’s the beginning of a new era
on the island, one where we co-operate in working together to create a
more prosperous future.” And while not everybody walked away from
the day’s events with a red sash and a bouquet, there can be no
doubt that the entire Koh Tao community came out a winner. |
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