Artwork made from marine debris used as rallying call for Quadra cleanup

Nevil Hand, a member of the Quadra Island Beach Clean Dream Team, created a 3’6” high miniature based on Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Last Supper out of marine debris he collected on Quadra Island’s beaches.

“(It) was created to express my outrage of a very serious environmental problem that is silently invading our island,” he says.

Hand says large populations, storms and tidal actions send debris to the island’s beaches and city storm sewers draining into the waters.

“Aquaculture, hunting, commercial, sport fishing, shipping, marinas, and many other industries, and people in many cases, seem to have careless concern for the ocean that feeds them,” says Hand.

His artwork is over five feet in width and weighs about 75 lbs.

The Quadra Island Beach Clean Dream Team has teamed up with the Comox Strathcona Waste Management Service for a beach cleanup event on June 1 and 2, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Residents can help with sorting, collecting, and filling bins and sign up for notifications at quadrabeachclean@gmail.com.

Any debris found will be recycled through the Ocean Legacy recycling depot in Cumberland.

“Situated at the north end of (the) Georgia Strait, Quadra is in the direct path to receive this unwanted pollution. British Columbia’s growing population contributes even more,” says Hand. “People need to help our planet for the future, not destroy it. Don’t pollute.”