Held annually each September, an International Cleanup Day was founded by the Center for Marine Conservation (CMC) in 1986.  PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) in partnership CMC, has organized the Project AWARE Foundation.  Project AWARE is the underwater portion of International Cleanup Day.   Annually divers all around the world volunteer in a joint effort to clean up under waters and beach ways.  Billed as the world's largest volunteer environmental event, this International Cleanup Day boasts thousands of volunteers of all ages rolling up their sleeves and donning their dive gear to clean up local beaches, lakes, oceans, streams and water ways.

 Saturday, September 17, 2005, our 15th Annual PADI AWARE DIVE event took place in the village of Skaneateles.  It was a total success! Many thanks to all who participated, we had 22 people diving and doing shore support – what a great turnout. Bob DeWitt did a fantastic job of planning and coordinating, and Terry, Rachel, and Bob DeWitt brought juice, donuts and onion bags for all. We collected a lot of trash, including a cell phone which miraculously turned on after it was dried (despite the zebra mussels). A large group had lunch afterwards at the Blue Water Grill and enjoyed complimentary beverages with their meal. A good time was had by all!

Saturday, September 18, 2004 our 14th Annual PADI AWARE DIVE event took place in the village of Skaneateles.  Areas of clean-up were the outlet and the area around the pier and the swim area.  

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8th - 12th Annual AWARE DIVES
ASDA club members met to clean up the beach ways along the north end of the lake in the village of Skaneateles since 1998.  

The Village of Skaneateles provided a truck for trash pick-up.  Ground support/helpers together with local Boy Scout troops volunteered to help transfer trash collected from the shore to the village truck.  The Chamber of Commerce provided, donuts, coffee, soda and pizza for all volunteers.   

The first 2 years, Doug's Fish Fry offered free bowls of soup to divers who found "planted" sea shells strewn underwater in front of the beach ways and  the Syracuse Press as well as many town visitors were on the scene to cheer us on.  Below are photos from some of those events:

• 11th Annual AWARE dive ... September 15, 2001. 
  Members participating in the 2001 dive were:  Cher Benda, Clay and Kim Caldwell, Bob, Terry and Rachael Dewitt, Greg and Shari Harris,  Rick Horr, Keith Marsden, Chris Matijas, Greg Porter, Scott Short, Dan Smith, Gary, Sue and Liam Blakney Wilson.

• 10th Annual AWARE dive ... September 16, 2000.   
  approximately 50 volunteer divers  from ASDA and  Finger Lakes  Scuba Clubs participated in 2000

• 8th  Annual AWARE dive ... September 19, 1998. 

 Divers participating in 1998 were Cher Benda, Kim Caldwell, Clay Caldwell, Shari Dempsey, Bob DeWitt, Terry Hoffmann Dewitt, Molly Evans, Scott Groomes,  Greg Harris, Lanny Hicks, Jeff Holden, Astrid Matijas, Chris Matijas, Rob Matijas, Dom Santabuno, Scott Short, Kathy Starkey, Tim Turner, Wendy Turner, Liam Blakney Wilson.

2nd - 7th Annual AWARE Dives  -- Clean-up was done along the our beloved cliff water ways, north of Spafford Landing on Skaneateles Lake, New York. 

Greg Harris coordinated our club's 1st PADI AWARE Dive. The cliffs, north of Spafford Landing on the east side of Skaneateles Lake, was the site for that dive.  We have annually held an AWARE Dive every September since then ... we just pick another area that needs to be cleaned up. other area that needs to be cleaned up. 

While there are a few  "olde thyme stories" circulating among long-time ASDA members of clean up dives that were done in the clubs early years [one story boasts of finding a $20.00 bill along the wall of the park next to Legg Hall] in 1991 Don Kline was instrumental in getting our club re-involved in underwater clean-up.  Coordinating an environmental dive, July 20, 1991, we met at the Skaneateles pier to clean up the lake.

July 20, 1991