Page 71 - Masthead - Salcombe Yacht Club 2019 Yearbook

Cadets Beach Clean
Salcombe Yacht Club cadets took a weekend away from sailing to lend
a hand in removing plastic from our shores. A group of about 30 children and parents met at The Watch House and were ferried to OX Point in “The Bag”. Armed with equipment, provided by Nigel Mortimer from the Estuaries Office of the South Devon AONB, the aim was to collect and record plastic waste as well as a general rubbish collection. On arrival the shore looked to be fairly clear of rubbish, however it did not require much effort to uncover a large amount of plastic waste that was caught up in the overhanging trees and bushes. There was a significant amount of string and rope that was wrapped around trees and copious amounts of small pieces of polystyrene, bottle tops and fishing tackle. The cadets soon managed to fill upwards of 10 very large plastic sacks.
The cadets are regular users of
the estuary with Saturday morning sailing from May to October and a growing number of them now racing on a Saturday afternoon, so giving something back to the local area is important and helps them appreciate just what a magnificent place they get to sail in. With the clean-up morning set to become a regular event, it will be interesting to see if plastic pollution on our shores starts to visibly reduce over the next few years.
PLASTIC CLEVER Plastic Clever Salcombe
Salcombe Yacht Club has become increasingly environmentally aware over the course of the past year and the cadets have been engaging in regular beach cleans too, inspired by Anna Turns and her daughter Ella’s Plastic Clever Salcombe campaign.
In summer 2018, Anna and seven-year- old Ella paddle-boarded 22 miles over
two days, picking up litter as they went up all the creeks in Salcombe-Kingsbridge estuary, and engaging schools and locals in various beach cleans and litter picks along the way. “Plastic pollution is very much in the mainstream consciousness these days, and it’s great that so many people and businesses from across the community
in Salcombe are now joining forces and becoming Plastic Clever,” says Anna. “The beauty of our campaign is that it is child-led and it’s ultimately all about empowering young people to make a positive change
in their community, and we’ve been so amazed by how the local schoolchildren
have engaged with this project.” This
Kids Against Plastic initiative focuses on reducing the big four polluters – plastic carrier bags, straws, drinks bottles and takeaway cups with lids. So far, the Plastic Clever Salcombe team has signed up 50% of businesses in town and works closely with Salcombe Primary School too. “As a coastal town, we can all play a proactive part in preventing any waste reaching the ocean – we believe reusables are always preferable to any throwaway disposables so we’re encouraging people to use cloth bags, keep cups for hot drinks, and paper or metal straws for example.”
Funds raised at the pig racing during regatta were kindly donated to Plastic Clever Salcombe and Salcombe Yacht Club have been trialling metal pint cups as a sustainable alternative to glass for drinks taken outside and also introduced the use of paper straws.
There are further exciting plans in the pipeline for Plastic Clever Salcombe and
if you’d like to get involved, please get in touch with Anna Turns directly on anna@ environmentaljournalist.co.uk
Look out for the blue Plastic Clever stickers around town and find out more here: http://www.kidsagainstplastic.co.uk/ do/plastic-clever-salcombe/
SYC Stories 69