MARINE DEBRIS FORMS
CONTACT INFORMATION
Merbok Legacy Marine Debris Cleanup
Project Year One Communities
Nome: Saftey Sound / Nuuk Area • White Mountain
Nome: Safety Sound / Nuuk Area
Project staff hosted a community meeting on July 16th, 2025 in Nome to plan for an effective cleanup in Safety Sound. We asked residents to locate where debris has been seen, as well as surveyed camp owners on what was lost or washed away. Meeting participants could identify areas on a large map, utilized to plan cleanup efforts. Opportunities for debris location was also available online for people who could not make the meeting.
Kawerak partnered with Village of Solomon and Sitnasuak for land permission and to coincide with the annual cleanup of the area sponsored by Sitnasuak.
Safety Sound Cleanup officially started on August 2nd, 2025, but preparation took weeks and months before. Preparation included a training for staff July 28-August 1, 2025. When the cleanup began, efforts focused at first on the Nuuk area to help remove debris from the beaches as well as support camp owners in removing any remaining debris from their campsites. The following week, the Kawerak crew, along with a hired worker from Solomon, continued cleaning the beaches from the East side of the Safety Sound bridge to the mouth of the Bonanza River. Even the youth at Solomon youth camp got a lesson in marine debris and cleanup efforts on August 5th.
In total, almost one square mile was cleaned! Debris collected was brought back to the sorting center to be sorted and weighed before being sent for recycling. We are excited with our progress, and hope to make more!
Map of the Areas Cleaned in Safety Sound
Meeting Pictures
Cleanup Pictures
White Mountain
Community meetings were held in White Mountain August 22nd and Golovin August 26th. These meetings were to determine locations and concentrations of debris, locations desired most by the community to get cleaned up/debris removal, and the best logistics on access and removal of the debris. The meetings were well attended and lots of information was shared! Program staff also utilized helicopter hire to identify areas of large debris or undocumented debris in the area to ensure effective clean up efforts.
The cleanup effort was done on September 24th and 25th. Over these two days we cleaned a 4 mile stretch and removed about 2,320 pounds of debris. Included in the debris were eighteen 55-gallon oil drums and one 500-gallon oil drum among other assorted debris. Staff from Nome and locally hired staff worked together and got creative using sleds, ATVs and boats to access the debris in the remote location referred to as “Dog Channel” .
Image of 4 mile area of clean-up known as “Dog Channel”
We very much have appreciated the support and cooperation from the local communities, as well as the White Mountain and Golovin Corporations and Tribes.
Map of the Areas of Focus for Cleanup as determined by White Mountain and Golovin communities.
Meeting Pictures
Cleanup Pictures
Merbok Legacy Marine Debris Cleanup
Project Year One Communities
Nome: Saftey Sound / Nuuk Area • White Mountain
Nome: Safety Sound / Nuuk Area
Project staff hosted a community meeting on July 16th, 2025 in Nome to plan for an effective cleanup in Safety Sound. We asked residents to locate where debris has been seen, as well as surveyed camp owners on what was lost or washed away. Meeting participants could identify areas on a large map, utilized to plan cleanup efforts. Opportunities for debris location was also available online for people who could not make the meeting.
Kawerak partnered with Village of Solomon and Sitnasuak for land permission and to coincide with the annual cleanup of the area sponsored by Sitnasuak.
Safety Sound Cleanup officially started on August 2nd, 2025, but preparation took weeks and months before. Preparation included a training for staff July 28-August 1, 2025. When the cleanup began, efforts focused at first on the Nuuk area to help remove debris from the beaches as well as support camp owners in removing any remaining debris from their campsites. The following week, the Kawerak crew, along with a hired worker from Solomon, continued cleaning the beaches from the East side of the Safety Sound bridge to the mouth of the Bonanza River. Even the youth at Solomon youth camp got a lesson in marine debris and cleanup efforts on August 5th.
In total, almost one square mile was cleaned! Debris collected was brought back to the sorting center to be sorted and weighed before being sent for recycling. We are excited with our progress, and hope to make more!
Map of the Areas Cleaned in Safety Sound
Meeting Pictures
Cleanup Pictures
White Mountain
Community meetings were held in White Mountain August 22nd and Golovin August 26th. These meetings were to determine locations and concentrations of debris, locations desired most by the community to get cleaned up/debris removal, and the best logistics on access and removal of the debris. The meetings were well attended and lots of information was shared! Program staff also utilized helicopter hire to identify areas of large debris or undocumented debris in the area to ensure effective clean up efforts.
The cleanup effort was done on September 24th and 25th. Over these two days we cleaned a 4 mile stretch and removed about 2,320 pounds of debris. Included in the debris were eighteen 55-gallon oil drums and one 500-gallon oil drum among other assorted debris. Staff from Nome and locally hired staff worked together and got creative using sleds, ATVs and boats to access the debris in the remote location referred to as “Dog Channel” .
Image of 4 mile area of clean-up known as “Dog Channel”
We very much have appreciated the support and cooperation from the local communities, as well as the White Mountain and Golovin Corporations and Tribes.
Map of the Areas of Focus for Cleanup as determined by White Mountain and Golovin communities.
Meeting Pictures
Clean-up Pictures