The volunteer divers of the Point Pleasant First Aid Rescue Dive Team have been honored by New Jersey Clean Communities for clearing trash and debris off the bottom of Silver Lake in Point Pleasant Beach. The team received a Clean Communities Award in the Clean Watershed category on October 8, and the Borough of Point Pleasant Beach shared the news with residents on November 14.

What the divers pulled out

According to the borough, the cleanup of Silver Lake filled four boats and nine barrels with garbage, all of it brought up by divers working underwater rather than from the shoreline. The award recognizes that work as part of protecting the area's waterways: whatever sits on the bottom of a lake near the coast does not stay there, and a lake cleanup is one of the few ways to remove debris that shoreline sweeps never reach.

Chief Diver Chet Nesley accepted the award on the team's behalf.

Who the team is

The Point Pleasant First Aid Rescue Dive Team is made up of volunteer divers trained for water rescue. The Silver Lake project put that underwater training to a different use: hauling out what had settled on the lake bottom.

About the award

New Jersey Clean Communities is the statewide litter cleanup and prevention program, and it recognizes volunteers, towns and groups with awards at its fall ceremony. The Clean Watershed category covers work that keeps trash out of rivers, lakes, bays and the ocean.

Getting involved

Point Pleasant Beach's Green Team and Environmental Commission meets on Thursday, November 19, according to the borough calendar, and the borough's site carries its other environmental projects, including a fall campaign asking residents to leave leaves in garden beds for pollinators and wildlife. Residents who want to volunteer with the borough's environmental efforts can find the committee's meeting dates on the borough calendar.

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