Guest post by the Eday Ranger - Jenny Campbell

 

I moved to Orkney 18 months ago to take up the Eday Ranger position, of course I’d always been concerned about marine pollution and pollution in general but it wasn’t until I lived up here that I became quite so passionate (or should I say militant) about it.  I think it’s the sheer amount you see up here, every tide line on every beach is strewn with all kinds of plastic rubbish as the PU3P outreach to schools proves with their collection of plastic items collected from around Orkney.  Then discovering the fate of all these plastic items, to photo-degrade becoming smaller and smaller then being ingested by marine life.  That’s if birds and mammals haven’t become entangled or trapped in plastic items before they break down.  Obviously, we all know marine litter is not a good thing but I don’t think many people realise quite how dangerous it is so the PU3P campaign is a brilliant idea as it helps the physical state of the beaches but also makes people think about their plastic use and what happens to their rubbish when it’s thrown out – where’s out?  In terms of our planet, there is no out so we need a shift in thinking, as well being very good recyclers and re-users we also need to reduce the amount of plastic being manufactured, every new bit of plastic is just another bit that will never, ever disappear!

 

So it was time for Eday to get the PU3P treatment, after a visit to Glaitness Primary School with Lindsey from RSPB to watch Lesley in action and learn how to interpret to a younger audience and also borrow the collection of bruck to show the Eday children.  So first we had a chat about the marine environment, the fate of plastics and other rubbish, the sad stories associated with it but then to cheer us up again we talked about what we can do to help.  It seems such a daunting prospect but as we found out, if you do what you can, what more can anyone ask?  The more people that think this way, the bigger the movement will become.  We then had a go at identifying some of the marine litter PU3P had lent to us and the children loved it as we made it like a scavenger hunt with a tick list.  After all the items had been spotted we talked through a few of them explaining how they could endanger an animal or the effect it could have.  As usual, the Eday children were very interested and concerned so we had a wee chat about our Bag the Bruck activity that will be coming up and they decided we should spread the word of PU3P to everyone we know!

 

This was followed by a ‘Rubbish Evening’ at Eday Heritage Centre, there was an illustrated presentation, similar to what the children had in the morning although with a few more sad photos of seals entangled in rope, whales in ghost-nets and birds killed through entanglement just to get the point across as I reckon we all need reminded sometimes.  This was followed by an excellent talk by RSPB Enjoy Wild Orkney’s Anne Bignall on all the amazing things that can be seen just below the surface of Orkney waters.  There was a quick break to refill glasses and order dinner then we gathered again to watch Raymond Besant’s short film, ‘The Flying Dustbin’ which tells the story of how plastic pollution affects fulmars, in a graphic yet engaging way, again emphasising why we need to do something now.  It was getting late by the time we finished but there was still time for sausage, chips and Orkney Best.  This event attracted 35 adults in the evening and our entire school of six pupils took part in the morning, if everyone one of those people went to the beach once and picked up their three pieces we’d have 123 pieces less of litter on our beaches!  It all adds up so spread the word.

The next step for us is getting one of these fancy bins you’ll have seen popping up all over Orkney, partaking in Bag the Bruck in April and picking up 3 pieces all year long!

PU3P visit to Rousay

A few weeks ahead of Bag the Bruck, the children in Rousay are well aware of the litter that is in the ocean and the harm it can do.

 

 

They were surprised to find inhalers and toothbrushes, shoes and gloves, and lots of balloons in the bruck collected from the beach. How did it get there? Where did it come from?

 

 

Jim Toomey helped us think about how it got in the oceans in the first place and what we can do about it. If lots of us make these small changes we can make a big difference to the problem.

 

Gruellie Belkies Saving Sanday's Shores

PU3P and Anne Bignall from the RSPB's Enjoy Wild Orkney project, visited Sanday Community Centre and then Sanday School to give a talk and slideshow along with the Sanday Ranger, Rod Thorne. A good turnout for our evening talk gave us an indication of just how concerned and active the community are about looking after their amazing beaches. Anne showed us some of her vivid photos of the habitats and creatures she sees underwater convincing everyone that the thriving underwater ecosystems around our shores need to be protected just as much as the creatures we see above the water.

 

Rod shared some memorable images of beach finds and strandings as well as some unfortunate victims of entanglement which have been found on the shore.

 

We finished off with a look at the typical sort of litter which ends up on our shores and why it is worth removing it even if you can only pick up three pieces of it.

 

Next morning at the school we spoke again at assembly, and then to the Eco Group who had some good questions to ask about where the litter came from and ideas about how it might have got into the ocean

 

 Finally we spoke to the John Muir Award group who have already cleaned one beach and plan to visit one a week through the duration of their project. As well as recording and reporting ray and shark cases and dead birds, they are bagging and removing large amounts of litter at each location. This is a great time of year to do this, particularly this winter, after the consistent and violent winter storms which have dislodged and thrown up masses of litter previously in the water column and on the sea bed. We look forward to a guest post from the group later to hear how their inspiring example of outstanding active environmental responsibility has progressed.

'Scratching the Surface' - a guest post by Anne Bignall

If you glanced out to sea on a grey windy day in Orkney,  it would be easy to think that beneath the surface of the waves was pretty murky and inhospitable –  a place lacking in colour and perhaps rather sparse in life. This couldn’t be further from the truth!  Even at the shallowest depths, there are a wide variety of  vibrant, colourful and dynamic habitats supporting an astonishing array of animals.  Kelp forests, eelgrass meadows, rocky outcrops adorned with seaweeds and the sand or muddy sea bed itself make Orkney a fantastic place for life to flourish and our clear water makes it a great place for snorkelers or divers to experience what is there.

You get a hint of what might be living beneath the surface when things are washed up on the beach dead,  or by catching a glimpse of dolphins or whales breaking the surface of the water, seeing seals hauled out or even seeing seafood caught locally.  However, spending time in the water, enables you to experience this amazing ‘other world’ and to see marine animals living out their lives, responding to their surroundings and interacting with each other.  Once you’ve experienced this and made that connection it is impossible to ignore the catastrophic damage plastic litter is causing to the environment and the horrendous suffering it causes to sentient animals that rely on the ocean like seals, cetaceans and seabirds.

All the picture in the slideshow are taken around Orkney’s coast – most in water only a couple of metres deep.  If you are really inspired, why not try snorkelling yourself? For more information you can visit the Snorkel Orkney Facebook page where some of Orkney’s avid snorkelers post pictures and discuss marine life.
 

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.