Ian Lindsay & Associates: Ian Lindsay of Lindsay and Associates has played an active role in the local community since 1979. He has been with RE/MAX, Vancouver Island's most advanced real estate business network, since 1996, marketing and selling residential, rural, strata, and recreational investment and project development real estate. Ian has received several awards recognizing his exceptional community commitment locally, as well as awards for outstanding performance and achievement from both RE/MAX International and the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board. You'll find true real estate professionals at IanLindsay.ca.

Eddie Van Haddock & The Rockfish: In a little town by the sea where the stories never end, lived Captain Dave and his crew, every child's favourite friend. With a smile as wide as the ocean and a heart that's full of dreams, he sails a mellow submarine where magic gleams and beams. Every morning at sunrise, when the world awakes anew, Captain Dave and his crew set sail in waters deep and blue. Through the ticking clock of time, where adventures come alive, they laugh and learn and play each day in their underwater dive.

Dave Graham: Captain Dave steered the mellow submarine through the calm waters of Bowser, a small community on the eastern shore of Vancouver Island. Through the porthole, Larry the Lobster watched the sunlight dancing on the water's surface.

"Captain Dave, why is this place called Bowser?" Larry asked. "Is there a big dog that lives here?"

Captain Dave chuckled. "No, Larry. Bowser was named after William John Bowser, who was the premier of British Columbia a long time ago. It's a quiet little community right on the Strait of Georgia with beautiful beaches and tidal flats."

Larry pressed his face closer to the porthole. "The water looks lovely, but Captain, what's all that stuff on the sea floor?"

Captain Dave adjusted their depth and both of them peered down at the sandy bottom below. Scattered across the seabed were bottles, aluminium cans, plastic containers, fishing line, and other debris.

"Oh my," Captain Dave said quietly. "That's marine litter, Larry. Trash that's ended up in the ocean."

Larry's claws drooped. "But this is such a beautiful place. How did all that rubbish get here?"

"Sometimes people accidentally drop things from boats," Captain Dave explained. "Sometimes trash blows off beaches during storms. Sometimes it washes down from streams and rivers. And unfortunately, sometimes people litter on purpose, not thinking about where their trash will end up."

Larry scuttled over to the submarine's controls. "Captain, we have to do something. We can't just leave all that mess down there. It could hurt fish and crabs and all the creatures who live here."

Captain Dave smiled warmly at his friend. "I was hoping you'd say that, Larry. What do you have in mind?"

Larry's eyes lit up with determination. "Let's organise a cleanup—a big underwater bottle drive. We can collect all the bottles and cans and take them to be recycled."

"That's a wonderful idea, Larry. But one submarine crew can only do so much. What if we got the whole community involved?"

Larry clicked his claws together excitedly. "Yes! Let's ask everyone in Bowser to help. The more helpers we have, the cleaner we can make the ocean."

Captain Dave piloted the submarine to the Bowser public dock and secured it carefully. Larry and Captain Dave climbed out and walked along the beach, looking at the problem more closely. Even above the waterline, there was debris: plastic bottles wedged between rocks, aluminium cans half-buried in the sand, old fishing nets tangled in driftwood.

"This is worse than I thought," Larry said sadly.

A woman jogging along the beach noticed them and stopped. She was wearing a bright green jacket and had a warm, friendly smile. "Hello there. I'm Sarah. I teach at Deep Bay Elementary School, just up the road. Is that your submarine at the dock?"

"It is," Captain Dave said, introducing himself and Larry. "We're here because we want to organize a community beach and underwater cleanup."

Sarah's face brightened. "That's wonderful. My students and I do regular beach cleanups, but we can't reach the underwater debris."

Larry stepped forward eagerly. "That's where we come in. I can work underwater and Captain Dave has equipment on the submarine to help collect things from the sea floor, but we need more helpers."

Sarah pulled out her phone. "I know exactly who to call. Give me an hour and I'll have volunteers, students, and maybe even the local podcasters here."

True to her word, within an hour, the Bowser beach was bustling with activity. Sarah's students arrived with their families. Local residents brought collection bags and gloves, and Peter and Dave from The PULSE podcast came to cover the story.

Captain Dave gathered everyone together. "Thank you all for coming today. We're going to work together to clean up our ocean. The beach team will collect debris above the waterline. Larry and I will coordinate the underwater cleanup. Everything we collect will be sorted. Recyclables will go to the depot, and non-recyclables will be disposed of properly."

A young boy, about seven years old, raised his hand. "Mr Captain Dave, what happens to all the bottles and cans after we recycle them?"

"Excellent question. What's your name?"

"I'm Marcus."

"Well, Marcus, when we recycle aluminium cans, they can be melted down and turned into new cans. Glass bottles can be crushed and melted to make new glass. Plastic bottles can be cleaned and processed into new products, sometimes even clothing or playground equipment."

Larry added, "And by recycling, we save energy and resources. It takes much less energy to make a can from recycled aluminium than from brand-new materials. Plus, when we keep trash out of the ocean, we protect all the animals who live there."

Sarah organized the beach volunteers into teams. Some would pick up litter along the shoreline. Others would sort the collected materials into recyclables and garbage. The students were especially enthusiastic, racing along the beach with their collection bags.

Meanwhile, Larry donned his special collection harness—a mesh bag system that Captain Dave had designed. "I'm ready, Captain. Let's clean up the ocean floor."

Larry swam down to the seabed, amazed at how much debris had accumulated. He started with the most obvious items: bottles and cans scattered across the sand. As he worked, he noticed many of the bottles had deposit labels.

"Captain Dave," Larry called up through the submarine's communication system, "a lot of these bottles and cans have deposit labels. That means people paid money when they bought the drinks and they can get money back by returning them."

"That's right, Larry. In British Columbia, we have a deposit-refund system to encourage recycling. People pay a small deposit when they buy a beverage, and they get it back when they return the empty container."

Larry carefully collected bottles one by one, placing them in his mesh bag. "So someone just threw away money? That doesn't make sense."

After two hours of work, Larry had collected over 50 bottles and cans from the underwater area near the beach. His collection bag was nearly full. He surfaced near the dock where the beach cleanup crew had also gathered impressive piles of debris. Sarah and her students had sorted everything into categories: aluminium cans, glass bottles, plastic bottles, and non-recyclables.

Marcus was carefully counting the deposit containers. "We found 127 cans and bottles with deposits," Marcus announced proudly. "That's $12.70. What should we do with that money?"

Sarah asked the group. A girl named Emma raised her hand. "Can we donate it to an ocean conservation group? That way the money from the bottles can help protect the ocean."

Everyone agreed this was a perfect idea.

Captain Dave looked at the sorted piles with satisfaction. "This is tremendous work, everyone. But Larry and I have been thinking—what if we could use some of this material in a way that actually helps the ocean?"

Larry scuttled forward excitedly. "We've been learning about artificial reefs. Sometimes people use clean, safe materials to create underwater structures that give homes to fish and other sea creatures."

Sarah looked intrigued. "Could we really do that with some of this material?"

"The glass bottles could work," Captain Dave explained. "Glass is inert, which means it won't leak chemicals into the water. If we clean them thoroughly and arrange them carefully in a safe location, they could provide shelter for small fish and places for algae to grow."

One of the volunteers, nodding enthusiastically, spoke up. "Hi, I'm Henry. I've heard about artificial reefs. They did something similar in Nanaimo with old ships. The ships became homes for rockfish, octopuses, all sorts of marine life."

Over the next week, Larry and Captain Dave worked with Sarah's class to prepare clean glass bottles for the artificial reef project. The students learned about marine habitats, the importance of biodiversity, and how human-made structures can sometimes benefit ocean ecosystems when done properly. They chose a safe location away from boat traffic and natural habitats, with permission from the local authorities. The glass bottles were thoroughly cleaned and arranged in stable formations, secured with natural materials like rocks.

On the day they installed the reef, Marcus asked, "How long will it take for fish to start using it?"

"Some might investigate it right away," Larry explained. "Others might take days or weeks, but eventually algae will grow on the glass. Small fish will hide in the spaces between the bottles, and larger fish will come to hunt the smaller fish. It becomes a little ecosystem."

Two months later, Larry and Captain Dave returned to check on their artificial reef. They were amazed at the transformation. Green algae coated many of the bottles. Small rockfish darted between the glass structures. A small octopus had made its home in one of the larger spaces. Tiny crabs scuttled across the surfaces, and a school of herrings swam past.

"It's working," Larry said with joy. "We turned trash into treasure—a home for all these creatures."

They surfaced near the beach where Sarah was conducting a science class with her students. "Larry! Captain Dave! Perfect timing," Sarah called. "We're studying ocean conservation, and the students want to know how the reef is doing."

Larry couldn't wait to share the news. "It's incredible. There are fish, crabs, algae, even an octopus living there now. The glass bottles that were just trash on the sea floor are now providing shelter and habitat."

Emma raised her hand. "Does that mean we should throw more bottles in the ocean to make more reefs?"

"No," Larry said quickly. "That's an important question, Emma. We only made this reef because the bottles were already in the ocean as litter. The best thing is to not let bottles get into the ocean in the first place—recycle them, or better yet, use reusable containers instead of single-use bottles."

Marcus added, "Reduce, reuse, recycle—in that order. We learned that in class. First, try to use less stuff, then reuse things as many times as you can, and only if you can't do those things should you recycle."

Captain Dave was impressed. "You've learned the lessons well. The artificial reef is a success, but preventing litter in the first place is even better."

Henry, who had been listening from the beach, walked over. "You know what? Since your cleanup day, I've noticed something more. People are picking up trash when they see it. Last week I saw someone pick up a bottle that wasn't even theirs and put it in a recycling bin. Your project inspired people to care more."

Sarah smiled. "The students have been organizing weekly beach cleanups. It's become a regular school activity. They've collected over 500 deposit containers, and we've donated all the refund money to the Ocean Wise Conservation Association."

Larry felt a warm glow of pride. "That's wonderful. But none of us could have done this on our own. It took all of us working together—humans and lobsters."

"That's the key to conservation," Captain Dave said. "One person can make a difference, but a community working together can create real change."

As the sun began to set over the Strait of Georgia, painting the water in shades of orange and pink, Larry and Captain Dave prepared to continue their journey. The beach at Bowser was clean. The artificial reef was thriving, and the whole community had been inspired to care for their ocean.

"Captain Dave?" Larry said as they boarded the submarine.

"Yes, Larry?"

"Do you think we could do this in other communities too? There must be other beaches that need cleaning, other places where we could help."

Captain Dave smiled. "I think that's a wonderful idea, Larry. We could visit communities all along Vancouver Island, helping organize cleanups and teaching people about ocean conservation."

"You know what I learned, Captain?" Larry said thoughtfully. "I learnt that trash doesn't just disappear when we throw it away. It goes somewhere. And if we're not careful, that somewhere is our ocean. But I also learned that people really do care. They just need someone to organize them and show them how to help."

As the mellow submarine pulled away from Bowser, Larry took one last look through the porthole at the clean beach and the thriving community. The ocean floor that had been littered with bottles and cans was now clear, except for the carefully arranged artificial reef that was giving life to dozens of creatures.

"Thank you, Bowser," Larry whispered. "Thank you for teaching me that when we work together, we can make a real difference."

Eddie Van Haddock & The Rockfish: When the night falls softly, and stars light up the sky, Captain Dave tucks his crew in with a gentle lullaby. Dreams of whales and mermaids, of treasures lush and green, await each little sailor aboard the mellow submarine.

Ian Lindsay & Associates: Ian Lindsay of Lindsay and Associates has played an active role in the local community since 1979. He has been with RE/MAX, Vancouver Island's most advanced real estate business network, since 1996, marketing and selling residential, rural, strata, and recreational investment and project development real estate. Ian has received several awards recognizing his exceptional community commitment locally, as well as awards for outstanding performance and achievement from both RE/MAX International and the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board. You'll find true real estate professionals at IanLindsay.ca.