Peedie Sea gets its own logo!

 

 

Last year children at Glaitness realised that the swans and other birds at The Peedie Sea were in danger of being harmed by the litter that gathers there. In the recent stormy weather the litter from the surrounding area has been piling uparound the overwintering birds. A lot of it is plastic bags which are extremely dangerous to wildlife. 

The children who are now in P3 designed a new logo specially for the Peedie Sea which shows 3 swans eating rubbish which they have mistaken for food. This design cleverly combines the Glaitness School logo (the swan) with the message of picking up three pieces. Their logo is now on 2 newly established bins and their design has been put on a re-useable bag to help spread the message and to help provide an alternative to plastic bags. The bags are available from Glaitness School reception for £2.50 each. Why not 'pick one up' on your way to the shops, or drop into Shearer's or Bruce's Stores and get one there!

 

 

Firth are full of good ideas!

 

This week PU3P visited the Pupil Council at Firth School, which is situated in a fantastic location for marine education. The Pupil Council found out about some of the effects that marine litter has on animals that live in the ocean.

The we had a look at the collection of bruck which has been gathered on Orkney shores. The plastic film, wrap and carrier bags as well as single use bottles have been removed, leaving a surprising mix of items. Some of these may be local, some have been in the ocean for a long time and some have travelled all the way from Canada, probably swirling around in the North Atlantic gyre for a while before being flung out towards us.

 Everyone was aware of the masses of unecessary plastic packaging that there is for food in supermarkets and toy packaging, but some of the litter was surprising. Why were there inhalers and shot gun cartridges floating around in the sea? No wonder fulmars are called flying dustbins!

 

Lots of good questions meant that by the end of the session the Pupil Council had plenty of ideas about how to take action. They are ready to share what they have learned throughout the school and beyond, and spread the message, Pick Up Three for the Sea!

PU3P visits North Walls School, Hoy.

 

The PU3P collection of bruck has been out at North Walls School in Hoy this week and was closely examined by the children. They found the remains of balloons, toothbrushes, paintbrushes, dolls, forks and spoons as well as pieces of plastic that had floated across the North Atlantic from Canada. There may even have been some items from further away - we may never know where some of these things originated - but we do know that they end up here in the seas around Orkney and deposited, briefly, on our shores.

 

After watching the videos produced by The 5 Gyres Institute it was clear that the problem of plastics in the oceans is a worldwide one. With some expertise already in ocean currents, members of Class 2 understood just how far trash in the ocean can travel.

 

 They concluded that there are things we can do to help animals in the oceans and stop things getting worse. We can try to reduce the amount of plastic we buy and use, and we can use cotton or jute bags when we go shopping and keep re-using them.

 

How do you clean the ocean? You clean the shore!

 

The most popular video of the day was the one that reminded us of how amazing the ocean is.

  

                              

Peedie Sea litter warriors.

As the days get shorter and the weather cools the Peedie Sea again becomes busy with returning overwintering birds. The swans are arriving and ducks congregating - it is part of the seasonal change in Kirkwall. Once on the periphery of the town, The Peedie Sea is now surrounded by development and part of a busy thoroughfare - a main road and pedestrian paths between car parks with occasional food vans, supermarkets, school, campsite, playing fields, skatepark, a swimming pool and leisure centre, and housing. This means that the area is exposed to a lot of littering, much of it is single use bags and bottles, which spreads quickly in our windy weather.

The younger children at Glaitness School have taken responsibility for the area across the road from their school in a few different ways over the years by planting 'sticks' that are now young willow trees, and by creating interpretation boards for the new path.

They continue to do what they can in the windy playground to minimise the litter blown across to the Peedie Sea by having teams of volunteer litter pickers at break times and are now regularly making expeditions across the road to Pick Up Three Pieces, and working to get some bins established.

Here are a few of their responses to getting out and taking some action...

 

'I was surprised that there was so much rubbish but I was happy when we picked it all up.'

'I was happy when we were finished because we saved the animals from dying.'

'I am happy we picked up the litter because the plastic won't get stuck on the birds neck.'

'I enjoyed it because we are helping the environment. It was fun too because we got fresh air.'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Evie start planning and Burray get picking!

 

Pick Up Three Pieces visited two schools this week. Children at Burray had participated in the big 4th barrier litter pick with The Hope Community School last term but were keen to find out more about what marine litter is, the dangers it poses and where it comes from.

 

 

 

We watched a video and had a good discussion about their own experiences of finding plastics on the beach. Living so close to the shore meant that they were experts in some of the man made bruck to be found there.

 

Over in Evie later that day the Eco Committee and the Pupil Committee gathered to find out more about marine litter. Again they were a knowledgable group and very interested to see the litter from their own beach, some of which had come from Canada and Norway, and other bits, like crisp packets, from closer to home - maybe even the school playground!

 

 

After investigating the range of types of plastics that get washed up on Orkney's shores from the PU3P collection of cleaned beach plastics, they were keen to do something about it.

 

Lets hope we meet up again at the beach soon, and put some of that energy and enthusiasm into action!

 

 

 

Back at Burray the next day, a break in the weather meant a very pleasant morning on the beach for the Burray litter warriors. We found lots of rope, long lengths and short bits, scraps of plastic, clothes peg, cotton bud stick, lolly stick, bits of old creel, strapping bands, and much, much more!

 

The final big pile of bruck was deposited in the 1100ltr PU3P bin at the 4th barrier - almost filling it.

Well done for saving wildlife from all that  life threatening litter!

These children will continue to take a keen interest in, and responsibility for, the environment around them, and are already planning a return beach cleaning visit.

 

Burray School say, 'Pick Up Three!' 

 

Big Beachwatch Weekend 2013

The Marine Conservation Society  Big Beachwatch Weekend is on the third weekend in September every year. All round the coast of the UK groups of volunteers were surveying 100m of their beach and cleaning up marine litter. The results of such a massive survey give a clear snapshot of the amount and types of litter washing up on our shores.

 

The MCS Beachwatch team at Dingieshowe.

This year is the 20th MCS Beachwatch Weekend and it coincides with the Ocean Conservancy global clean up.  Volunteers all over the world have been participating in an International Coastal Cleanup and by doing so have been part of the world's largest volunteer effort for our ocean.

 

The Eday Beachwatch Team at London Bay.

 

In Orkney the Eday Scarf's got together at London Bay, coordinated by Jenny Campbell the Eday Ranger, and on the Mainland we met at Dingieshowe to do our survey and clean. Dingieshowe has been surveyed for four years so repeating the survey year after year provides useful information about changes in the way litter is deposited on the shore and the types of litter that end up here. The litter on 100 metres of beach is carefully counted and recorded.

 

 This year, like last year, the survey area - the most easily accessed part of the beach - was remarkably clean of litter. Prior to this it has been full of litter and quite a job to record. This might have something to do with the weather, or the amount of visitors to the beach - we hope it is because people have been picking up their pieces! We know of at least one enthusiastic local litter picker and the beach was cleaned by St Andrews School at Bag the Bruck time.

 

 

 

After the survey we got on with a general beach clean. The north end of the beach is an area that catches a lot of small pieces of plastic. These are generally fragments that get lodged between the cobbles and get ground into smaller bits and buried into the dunes. There were a few net monsters too - great clumps of net frgments that have found each other in the sea and have become a deadly tangled mess of knitted plastic. These take a lot of determined dragging to get them off the beach and to the pick up point.

 

 

 

 

After a couple of hours we had made a satisfying pile of bruck. 

 

You don't need to wait until the next big event to clean a bit of shore, a ditch or water course -  we can all clean up year round on a small scale as we walk, or when we are swimming, snorkelling, diving or kayaking, by picking up three for the sea.

 

 

 

Please share your pictures on our Facebook page!

The Hope Community School and Burray School at the 4th Barrier.

What a lot of plastic!

After a day finding out about marine litter and thinking about the effects it has on the environment, it was time for pre-school to P7 children from The Hope School, and Burray School, to tackle the problem at the 4th Barrier.

setting off

 

Careful not to disturb the terns, the groups set off and scoured sections of the beach.

As well as the usual plastic bottles and pieces of sheet there was a surprising amount of  tyres and old creels and fencing wire.

 

P5,6 and 7

P3 and P4

P1 and P2

 While the older children conducted a survey of the litter they found, others had a Scavenger hunt and identified lots of natural things that we like to find on the beach, with RSPB Ranger Katy Norbury.

 

Ghost net.

 Undaunted at the challenging task of removing a ghost net from the dunes the P3 and P4s spent a lot of energy trying to excavate it, but finally had to give up. Can anyone out there with a tractor help us?

If you can please send us a photo!

 

The Eco Committee gathered at the bin for the application of the new sticker.

 

Pick Up THREE!!!

And everyone rolled, dragged and carried the rubbish back to the bin.

 

A fantastic amount was gathered up and the final pile of bruck was more than the bin could hold. What a difference was made to the beach - well done everyone and thank you for all your hard work!

Special thanks to Ms Towsey for organising funding and planning the big event.

Its great to have a bin for bruck at the 4th barrier - let's Pick Up Three Pieces each time we visit!

 

 

Pick Up Three for the Peedie Sea!

We all know that marine litter comes from land and that it gets blown or washed into the sea and that on its trashy journey it can cause harm to wildlife.

 

At Glaitness School the children are aware of all the birds that come to the Peedie Sea and in particular the swans - they are the School's logo! So as well as trying to make sure that the playground doesn't produce litter which gets blown across the road the P2s have crossed the road and picked up the litter they have found there.

 

Its a really busy part of town with 3 big supermarkets close by, as well as plenty of car parking and people visiting burger and snack vans, so a lot of litter collects there in our windy weather.

 

 

 

Well done P2F! We will look forward to the next development in your initiative 'Pick Up Three for the Peedie Sea'!

Playtime for Pick Up Three Pieces.

To try to stop litter from their playground getting blown and washed into the sea Glaitness have started a PU3P playtime litter picking team.

Great fun on a lovely day!

Evie and Firth learn about marine litter

Following their Bag The Bruck beach clean Evie and Firth have been finding out about marine litter and the damage plastics and plastic bags in particular can do. They know that plastic bags are very bad for turtles who think they are delicious jellies, and that the dreaded plastic bag monster should not be fed any more bags!

Bag monster in the school display.

Bottle top mosaic turtle.

Pick Up Three Pieces will be visiting next term - see you after the summer litter warriors!

Pick Up Three Pieces Posters

 

Glaitness Class 4 have been finding out about marine litter as part of their topic on 'Coasts' this term. They have made some great posters. There are a few more to come too!

Keep checking and we'll add those later.

 

Thank You P4 for helping spread the message!

St Andrew's P3 - Beach Plastic Creatures

Earlier this term St Andrew's School went to Dingieshowe to Bag the Bruck. P3 collected and kept red and yellow pieces of litter for their artwork, and, inspired by their minibeasts topic they created some amazing creatures!

 

If you are inspired by their work don't forget to Pick Up Three Pieces!

Litter warriors on a beach near you!

 

Over the last few months Pick Up Three Pieces has been busy in schools.

Looking at the videos made by The 5 Gyres got everyone thinking about the problem of marine litter in the oceans around the world.

Having a look at some of the pieces gathered on Orkney's shores helped everyone realise how much evidence of the problem is on our doorstep. It is not only a problem that is happening far away in the Pacific, but we are contributing to and receiving litter from the North Atlantic Gyre.

Some of the items were a surprise! Some had travelled from Canada from one side of the ocean to the other, perhaps swirling around in the gyre for a while on the way.

Almost all of it was plastic.

 

 

It was time to take action!

Children from Glaitness not only removed litter from their own local beach at Scapa but also visited Dingieshowe - quickly fillling the bin!

 

We think this bin needs to be a lot bigger!

 

Most of the litter found was short lengths of rope and packing bands, and bits of net.

All of this is potentially deadly for marine creatures.

 

On World Environment Day more children from Glaitness returned to Scapa and continued the clean up, aware that in order to clean the gyre we need to clean our beaches and remove the litter before it is blown or washed back out to sea.

 

 With every tide more rubbish is left on the beach, and through the winter it is covered by seaweed and sand and stones. It takes a keen eye and determination to remove the hundreds of small lengths of

plastic rope and line, and the sheets of shredded plastic film which break up easily when pulled out of the sand.

 

 

Its quite an achievement to fill the 1100ltr bin and shows what can be achieved by team work!

No item is buried to deep for these determined litter warriors!

Next time you visit a beach, consider whether it may be safer for wildlife, and more enjoyable for you, because of  the efforts of  groups or individuals like these litter warriors.

 

Why not follow their example, join in and 'Pick Up Three for the Sea'! 

We think you will find it challenging to stop at 3!

Keep on bagging the bruck!

John Muir Day and Earth Day Coincided with 'Bag the Bruck' weekend here in Orkney this year. Along with a (temporary) slight rise in temperatures after a long cold winter it felt like the beginning of a new year. Lots of community groups joining forces over a weekend made a real difference to the amount of waste lying around on our shores and made the big spring clean an authentic community event.

St Andrews School bagging bruck at Dingieshowe.

It was great to see schools involved with Bag the Bruck and even better to know that the idea of taking stewardship for a local beach or shore all year round is spreading. Hopefully the wider community will engage and take action, and looking after our locality, waterway or our shore won’t be seen as something to leave to children and schools.

Stromness Primary taking stewardship for their shore.

Last year the Keep Scotland Beautiful ‘National Spring Clean’ campaign ran through April and May, but this year, The Year of Natural Scotland, the campaign has been re-named ‘Clean-Up Scotland’  with the emphasis on year round cleaning and ‘adopting’ a local area either as an individual or as a part of a group. The idea is to get the place looking great for hosting of The Commonwealth Games, The Ryder Cup and The Homecoming 2014. Let’s make sure it doesn’t stop there!

Bruck gathered at Deerness.

The idea of taking active responsibility for the environment is a timely one which is gaining momentum around the world. Social media is helping create active networks of individuals and groups, formal and informal, who are getting out on a regular basis and picking beach litter up. From ‘crowdsource cleanups’  to individuals, sharing what we have achieved online helps us to understand the aggregate effect of our actions. Why not visit the PU3P Facebook page and post  a photo of what you have picked up?

More than can be carried at Dingieshowe.

 

As Marcus Eriksen, co-founder of 5 Gyres Institute, says, ‘How do you clean the ocean? You clean your local beach!’

The final haul gets bigger each year.

The idea of Picking Up Three is that no one needs to feel overwhelmed by the problem and understands that every piece counts. There is a ripple effect of picking up litter. When other people see you do it – they are more likely to feel comfortable doing it too, and less comfortable dropping their own litter. It’s harder to litter a litter free area.  People become aware of just what the litter actually is and what it is made of – mostly stuff we use on land and mostly plastics and foams. In turn this is more likely to make us conscious of our choices as consumers. 

A liitle bit each time...

Next – Orkney Nature Festival! By finding out about the biodiversity around us, and accessing, enjoying and celebrating it, we’ll have even more motivation to look after it.