2017-May-04

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Preserving Our Future with Time2Give

By Elvis Bottega · Technical Project SE Manager · Switzerland

I joined Cisco through CSAP (Cisco Sales Associates Program) back in 2006. I am Italian but after changing several roles and three countries, I now live in Zurich and work in the dCloud organization.

A few years ago, thanks to a Cisco colleague, I discovered scuba diving. I fell completely in love with diving in my first dive, and started assiduously diving at a rate of three or more times per week, often doing multiple dives in the same day, all year long. I experienced altitude, ice, night and wreck diving, among the others. And dived in all kinds of environments including lakes, rivers, seas and pools and a multitude of weather conditions—sun, rain, snow, under-zero temperatures and over 40°C degrees.

In those initial years, I’ve made everything between 10-minute dives under the ice in freezing water in the Alps (a mountain range in Europe) to 1.5-hour dives in the Red Sea, among colourful fishes and corals.

I became a dive master in almost a year, and an instructor soon after­—working part time in several dive centers around the world (Italy, Spain, Scotland and Switzerland). I have accumulated close to 800 dives and achieved dozens of dive certifications. I now hold a MSDT (Master Scuba Diver Trainer) patent.

Among some of the great underwater experiences, I fondly remember the blind divers instructor course, which gave me the opportunity to take a visually-impaired guy under water, as well as the dozens of TAD (Try a Dive) classes for young kids who I introduced to the underwater world for the first time.

I always encourage students to dive consciously, with respect towards the maritime and lacustrine life. And I actively support Dive Against Debris®, a program promoted by Project Aware who empower scuba divers to remove marine debris from the ocean and report data on the types, quantities and locations of materials collected—something which can be performed during every dive.

Since the program's launch in 2011, more than 25,000 divers have participated in Dive Against Debris in more than 50 countries around the world, reporting over 500,000 pieces of trash. As the only underwater debris data collection program of its kind, Dive Against Debris both improves the health of ocean ecosystems through localized volunteer efforts and provides valuable information about underwater debris to help inform policy change.

These last kinds of experiences are truly important for me as a person, as a diver, and as a citizen. Debris not only kills the underwater flora and fauna, but also contaminates the entire water cycle. Polluted water evaporates, becomes steam, gets transported by winds and falls again on our heads, on the fields we cultivate, and on the grass animals ruminate. So, in short, we eat and drink the rubbish we throw in the seas, lakes and rivers! Who would ever, at dinner time, put on their children's dish an old tire or a plastic detergent bottle? No one. But that's what we indirectly do by throwing waste in the wrong place.

I wanted to spread the word and connect with other divers in the Cisco community, to encourage them to dedicate time to Dive Against Debris®. Using our collaboration solutions, I identified other divers and we created a virtual team to share ideas on how we could bring this project to reality. We took advantage of the Cisco Time2Give initiative and used our volunteering days to clean debris from the bottom of one of our local lakes.

There is no limitation as to who, where or when you can plan and perform a dive. Divers can organise themselves in a team or refer to a local diving centre or resort, collect a few underwater bags, and dedicate a few hours to protect the ecosystem and support Dive Against Debris®.

Everyone who took part loved this experience and wants to repeat it. What’s more, thanks to Cisco matching funds program, the Project Aware Foundation also received funds for each hour we spent on our project.

I have organized multiple "underwater cleaning days", and in our last dive, we collected and recycled almost 25 kilograms of waste from the bottom of the lake.

This continues to be an amazing example of a “win-win-win” situation. It is great for us, as we are passionate about diving. It is good for the company, as we nurture a collaborative and team-sharing culture. And it is helpful for society and the ecosystem, as we remove kilograms of waste from under water.

Project Aware Foundation reports in their global database that over 741,000 pieces of waste have been removed from underwater through the Dive Against Debris campaign! This is not just for employees, anyone can join in and volunteer—friends, family and diving enthusiasts.

This is about making our world a better place. Respecting and preserving maritime life is incredibly important for everyone, for the ecosystem, and for our children. The underwater world is peaceful and beautiful. It is my duty as a diver to help keep it pristine.

Related Links

• Dive Against Debris
• Dive Against Debris Map
• Careers at Cisco
• CSAP
• Time2Give

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