Vernon scuba shop hosts cleanup day along Holmes Creek

Inspired by the crystal-clear waters of Holmes Creek after weeks of little to no rain, S.E.A. Divers Scuba owner Ashton Davis and manager Erica Cureton hosted the shop’s first ever Creek Crawl event in an effort to clean up local waterways.

The community cleanup day on Sunday, September 21, coincided with PADI Aware Week, an initiative from the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) Aware Foundation, a US based 501(c)3 nonprofit. 

“We really were doing this to honor [PADI Aware week] but also to bring the community together,” Cureton, shop manager and lifelong Vernon resident, explained. “This community is so close to my heart so this wasn’t just a PADI thing, this was community and ‘let’s get everyone together’ which was really, really awesome.”

Participants ranged from seasoned divers to enthusiastic volunteers who met at the Vernon scuba shop before heading to Holmes Creek for an eight-hour cleanup between Cotton and Cullpepper landings near Cypress Springs. Thirty-two volunteers registered, coming from Crestview, Dothan, Fort Rucker, Panama City, Pensacola, Tyndall, and Georgia, with around two-thirds being experienced divers. The group successfully collected over 600 pounds of debris from the area including cans and glass bottles, cell phones, clothing, keys, a large fan, vapes, and wallets, with the prize for most intriguing find going to a wallet found with a military ID set to expire soon and a small remnant, postage stamp size, of cash that had mostly dissolved attached to the billfold. 

The youngest participant, 6, collected 1 pound 1 ounce of debris, alongside participants in their 70s adding to the total 640 pounds that the group collected. Bagging up one-sixth of the total debris collected, Connor Hensley, 15, a certified diver of 1 year collected over 102 pounds of  debris, earning the Grand Prize for Most Trash Collected.

Since opening in 2024, S.E.A. Divers Scuba has wanted to organize an event like this, and they plan to hold the Creek Crawl annually in conjunction with PADI Aware Week.

Davis, who has been diving since age 13 said, “If we start locally, it will have a global impact…it all starts here.”

With its first Creek Crawl, S.E.A. Divers Scuba organized an event focused on raising awareness and keeping the creek clean for all.

S.E.A. Divers Scuba owner Ashton Davis (left) and manager Erica Cureton (right) smile after a successful first cleanup day. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

Connor Hensley, holds two of the many bags that earned him Grand Prize for Most Trash Collected during the event. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]