By: Miles Al-Chokhachy, University of Vermont
So, here’s the story: I had the most perfect, wonderful, informative, fabulous vlog (starring me, duh) filmed about the conservation of Rio Cochrane and then it got lost to the river. We were participating in a river cleanup with a local organization in Cochrane called Descubriendo, and my vlog, which was on Tim’s phone, was lost to the river, never to be seen again. But it’s ok. The river giveth and the river taketh.
But back to the topic at hand, the conservation of Rio Cochrane. Rio Cochrane flows to the west from Lago Cochrane into Rio Baker, the largest river in Chile. It’s a crystal clear, freezing cold river that flows right by the town of Cochrane, but there is a disconnect between the town and the river. People of Cochrane mainly view the river in a utilitarian sense; it is a resource they have at their disposal. Descubriendo is a local organization that aims to connect the people of Cochrane to the river they live right next to. They are educating people about the biodiversity surrounding the river, providing a reason to protect it. They also are trying to get people connected to the river in a fun way. They teach kayaking and snorkeling courses in association with the local nautical club, Escualo, and they run an after-school program to get students involved with their surroundings.
Rio Cochrane flows right by our basecamp, Camping Aquasol. Earlier in the semester, we headed over to the other side of the river where Escualo, the nautical club, is located. Descubriendo taught us about their mission and then we got to learn how to snorkel in thick wetsuits to protect us from the freezing cold water. We also helped with some improvements around Escualo! The next day, we applied our new snorkeling knowledge during a river cleanup. We got all suited up and drove to a different section of the river, right in town. Twelve of us in wetsuits entered the water, and I think the only way to describe it is “controlled chaos”, as my instructor Ben said.
All suited up to clean up Rio Cochrane! Most of us were snorkeling, looking for trash, and we had several people in kayaks and pack rafts to collect the trash. Photo: Margaret McCarthy.
We started swimming down the river, and diving down to grab plastic trash, lots of glass bottles, and a whole assortment of trash. Some highlights we found were a welder’s mask and a traffic cone. It was astonishing how much trash we found in a river that looks so clean!
A couple action shots from the trash clean up. Snorkelers are scattered about in the water looking for trash! Photos: Margaret McCarthy.
In the end, we had a fun (and a little bit cold) day cleaning up Rio Cochrane. It was nice to contribute and do something for the town of Cochrane. Descubriendo is an amazing organization that is working so hard to protect Rio Cochrane and I am so glad we could help them out!
Me! Happy to be wearing two pieces of 9mm thick wetsuit to keep me warm. I had a fabulous time! Photo: Cora Murphy.