Kayakers from Illawarra Ramblers spent the morning of July 17 cleaning up rubbish around the foreshore of Lake Illawarra's Gooseberry Island as part of Plastic Free July.

A 12-strong crew of Ramblers volunteered for the clean-up, held as part of the annual Plastic Free July, a global event in which millions of people help to rid our streets, communities and oceans of rubbish by participating in community clean-ups and pledges to reduce/eliminate single-use plastic.  

Wollongong City Council invited the Ramblers to take part and Gerry O’Leary, who leads weekly paddles on Lake Illawarra, immediately accepted, taking on the logistics and organisation required.

Paddlers gathered with their kayaks at eight o'clock on a chilly July 17 morning at Berkeley for a briefing and safety instructions as the task involved clambering over rocks and oyster shells along the foreshore.

The kayakers spread around the island and used their gloved hands to collect about 20 large bags of rubbish, several car tyres, a car wheel, a plastic chair, a heavy foam mattress and a huge amount of small and large pieces of plastic, as well as numerous drink straws, water bottles, fishing line, broken glass etc.

A WIN TV news crew attended and the reporter, in a borrowed kayak, even helped out for a while.

At the end of the morning, a boat (thanks to Paul and Rodney) hoisted the bags onboard and a tired but satisfied group of paddlers returned to Berkeley for a well-earned cuppa as they watched trucks remove the huge pile of rubbish.

Thanks to a stalwart team of paddlers (Gerry, Fay, Heather, Charlie, Julie, Roger, Theresa, Phil, Fred and Peter).

The consensus among Ramblers is that they might aim for a rubbish-removal trip on Hooka Island later in the year.