ICC: Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan

Saturday, September 17, 2011 7am

Makaka Beach Garapan, Saipan CNMI
Coordinated by: Elaina Soll

Joining in International Coastal Clean Up Day, 35 volunteers cleaned Makaka beach and a part of Beach Road and collected 35 bags of trash weighing approximately 175 lbs. We also did our usual calisthenics and enjoyed a scrumptious breakfast courtesy of Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan.
 

ICC: Tan Holdings Adopt-A-Pavillion

Saturday, September 17, 2011 7am
13 Fishermen to Garapan Fishing Basin, Saipan CNMI
Coordinated by: Cecil Ramores

The Adopt-A-Pavilion team of 26 covered the coastal/shorelines of 13 Fishermen to Garapan Fishing base and were able to gather a total of 20 bags or approximately 100 lbs of trash. A September birthday bash followed after the clean-up!

ICC: Rotary Club of Saipan

Saturday, September 17, 2011 8am-9:30am
Garapan Fishing Basin, Saipan CNMI
Coordinated by: Laurie Peterka

Thank you to everyone who showed up to help with the International Coastal Clean Up at the Garapan Fishing Basin on Saturday! It was a really great turn out --- kudos to you all!!! The ocean thanks you and the planet thanks you for taking the time to pick up trash and for helping to set an example for others in our community. For those who were unable to join us, we missed you and hope to see you next time...

Our total group (after stragglers arrived) was about 25 people, including staff from McDonalds. We started a little after 8am and stopped around 9:30am due to the major downpour of rain. Afterwards, we gathered in the tented area and counted our collections for reporting to the CRM and Ocean Conservancy.

All in all, we collected approximately 40 bags of trash, which consisted mostly of bits of plastic bags and wrappers, cans, bottles, caps, cigarette butts, batteries, diapers and carry away food service items (cups, forks, spoons, etc).

Additionally, we discussed making a request once again to move the Rotary recycling bin back to its original location under the big pine tree nearest the road going in and out of the area for higher visibility and, hopefully, more usage.

Saipan Waterspout Photos

Marianas High School teacher Bryan Jones emailed around some photos of this week's waterspout, which many mistakenly thought was a tornado.  According to Mr. Jones the photos are taken at 3-minute intervals.  The photos are taken from Navy Hill.

 

 

"The Navigators" playing in October

First Friday Films Celebrates National Arts and Humanities Month in October featuring The Navigators: Pathfinders of the Pacific playing at 6:30 p.m. on October 7, 2011 at American Memorial Park.

Over 1,000 years ago, the islands of Polynesia were explored and settled by navigators who used only the waves, the stars, and the flights of birds for guidance. In hand-built, double-hulled canoes sixty feet long, the ancestors of today's Polynesians sailed across a vast ocean area, larger than Europe and North America combined.

To explore this ancient navigational heritage, anthropologist/filmmaker Sanford Low visited the tiny coral atoll of Satawal in Micronesia's remote Caroline Islands. The Navigators reveals the subtleties of this sea science, transmitted in part through a ceremony known as "unfolding the mat," in which 32 lumps of coral are arranged in a circle to represent the points of the "star compass." To master the lore of navigation was to attain great status in traditional Micronesian society.

This special event is brought to you by the NMI Council for the Humanities, the Tan Siu Lin Foundation, the Division of Environmental Quality and the National Park Service.

As always, First Friday Films is free and open to the public. For planning purposes, the film runs 59 minutes.  Visit the website for more information: firstfridayfilmssaipan.blogspot.com

2011 International Coastal

Join the entire Commonwealth for the 2011 International Coastal
Cleanup

Together, we can start a sea of change.

Hafa Adai Friends and Colleagues,

We are all connected to the ocean. And we're all responsible for the trash we leave behind, whether we mean to or not. Please join us, and the global movement that is giving back to the ocean, by spending just one day cleaning up trash from our world's waterways and ocean. It's one of the easiest things we can do to help protect the ocean.

We invite you to join us on Friday, September 16 and Saturday, September 17 - from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. for the 2011 International Coastal Cleanup.

To sign-up for the event, kindly complete the attached sign-up sheet and fax it to Guy Macaranas, Coastal Resources Management, at 664-8315. For more information, call 664-8305 or email guy.macaranas@crm.gov.mp

CRM along with DEQ will retrieve and properly dispose of the trash and recycling collected from the cleanup on Saipan. We will coordinate with your organization/group to determine a pick up point.

Thank you for your kind consideration of this important CNMI-wide event.

Regards,
Rita C. Chong-Dela Cruz
Administrator

From Blogger Pictures

First Friday Films presents "Home" tomorrow

Tomorrow, August 5, First Friday Films will be screening Home, a film that exposes the impacts of mankind’s actions on our planet Earth. With breathtaking visuals taken from an aerial perspective, we can take a look down on what has become of Earth and what we can do to save it from the threats of global warming. The journey starts at 6:30 PM at the American Memorial Park Visitor's Center. 

There is no place like home—and that is especially true when “home” refers to our planet. With stunning shots from over fifty countries, Home presents what Time magazine hails as “an intoxicating perspective on our world” showcasing the majestic beauty of the planet as well as the undeniable tragedy that we have caused it. Director Yann Arthus-Bertrand hopes that with this stark presentation of Earth, the film will resonate in all of us and convince us to save our home.

Steve Mckagan, from the NOAA field office here on Saipan, will be on hand to talk about what we are doing locally to prepare for climate change and how the local community can get involved with some of those programs.
 

As always, First Friday Films is free and open to the public.  Seated is limited, so please arrive early to ensure admittance.

See you tomorrow!