Tidy Up the Tides: Turning Thursdays Into Waves of Change

If you love the ocean, this one’s for you.

Picture this: a quiet morning, the sun rising over Subic Bay, the salty breeze in your hair. But as the tide pulls back, it leaves behind something that doesn’t belong—plastic bottles, food wrappers, tangled nets. This is the reality of our shores, and it’s not just an eyesore; it’s a crisis.

That’s why we’re not waiting for once-a-year cleanups anymore. Tidy Up the Tides is our way of fighting back—a bi-monthly coastal cleanup by Lighthouse Legacy Foundation, in partnership with Muovere Veloce (MVCI). Every other Thursday, we gather in front of Lighthouse Marina Resort to clear the shore and protect the ocean we love.

This week, we celebrated SBMA CHAD Alinos’ 75th birthday the best way we know how—by cleaning up. And on March 27, we’re doing it again. So the question is... are you in?

A Legacy of Ocean Protection

For more than a decade, Lighthouse Legacy Foundation’s Zed Avecilla has been at the forefront of coastal cleanups.

Zed Avecilla, Executive Director of Lighthouse Legacy Foundation, has been organizing coastal cleanups in Zambales and around Metro Manila since 2009, now Tidy Up The Tides in Subic.

Since 2009, Zed has been an area coordinator for the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) in Zambales, helping initiate cleanup efforts in key areas like LPPCHEA and Baseco. Starting 2025, in partnership with MVCI, what started as an annual event has now evolved into a structured, year-round commitment, with MVCI leading the execution and expansion to bimonthly cleanups—because the tides don’t wait, and neither should we.

The problem is bigger than what we see on our shores. Every Filipino produces around 12 kilograms of plastic waste per year, much of which ends up in our oceans (Basura Nation: Why Plastic is Killing Filipinos, Brother Earth).

A quarter of the trash we collected during the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) 2024.

In a cleanup we joined with Subic Sailing Club, we collected over 250 kilos of plastic waste in just a few hours—a stark reminder that our oceans are drowning in our consumption (Sailing Toward Trash-Free Seas, Hungry Travel Duo).

Make an Impact—One Thursday at a Time

We don’t need to be full-time environmentalists to make a difference. We just need people who care—divers, sailors, beachgoers, families, companies, and teams willing to give up a few hours to restore the ocean’s beauty.

Some of our local volunteers during the Tidy Up Thursdays March 11, sorting out the collected trash into their proper bins. Yes, we don't stop at collecting! We actually segregate them!

✔ Volunteer and be part of the cleanup crew

✔ Sponsor a cleanup as part of your CSR

✔ Turn your team-building into an impactful activity

We started with the ICC once a year, but we realized that wasn’t enough. So now, we’re showing up every other Thursday. If we can create a habit out of waste, we can create a habit out of cleaning it up, too.

📩 Registration is free—volunteer now: https://bit.ly/tidyupvolunteer

You too can be an ocean hero! Join as a volunteer just like these guys from SBMA and BFP!

Join Us on March 27 - and BEYOND!

Whether you’re an individual looking for a meaningful way to start your day or a company wanting to step up its sustainability game, this is your chance to be part of something bigger.

Let’s turn small actions into big ripples of change. 

See you on the shores of Lighthouse Marina Resort. Sign up now!

#TidyUpTheTides #OceanCleanup #SustainabilityMatters