Tag: Dunna Chuck Bruck

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Shetland Notes 3: Tracking

  100th arrival of Statsraad Lehmkuhl at Lerwick Harbour

This week I have been fortunate to witness the arrival and departure of numerous yachts from all around the world tied up to the pier and pontoon in Lerwick old harbour. On Thursday the Harbour Authority gave a special welcome to The  Stratsraad Lehmkuhl  the 1914 barque rigged training ship on its 100th arrival, it was accompanied by 16 smaller tall ships and yachts all of which tied up for the night. This event and the the daily arrivals of cargo ships, trawlers, ferries and regular crusie liners from across the world served to remind me of Shetlands global connectivity at 60 degrees North.

Yesterday I was introduced to the wonders of online vessel tracking software  www.vesseltracker   and  http://www.aquatera.co.uk/ShetlandShipping.asp  . I am now happily learning to identify the boats in harbour, anchored out in the channels and disappearing on the horizons and  find out where they are from and going to.

My wish is that we could track the litter  as efficiently, so we could see where it enters the oceans and who is responsible locally & globally. Once our litter enters the tidal flows it’s on a journey that will last as long as the material. Gun wads  (the plastic containers that hold the shot in a gun cartridg) is a case in point found all around Scotland. But the origin can be from near or far depending where you are. For instance on the west coast of the Highlands it is generally recognised that the gun wads littering the beaches are predominantly from local shoots, the wads being washed into the burns and into the sea.

On Shetland where almost no shooting takes place it is thought that the gun wads may be from the east coast of USA and Canada where  seal culls take place every year, the Atlantic tidal currents regularly bring hundreds of identifiable US plastic Fish box tags to the same beaches where the gun wads are picked up. The wads could also be from seal culls taking place much nearer, Iceland, Norway and Finland all have annual shoots. closer perhaps mainland Scotland (deer and claypigeon shoots)l large numbers of seals

our contribrition to the ocean conveyor belt

The wads could also be from seal culls taking place much nearer, Iceland, Norway and Finland all have annual shoots some could also arrive from the Scottish mainland (deer and clay pigeon shoots) large numbers of seals, Gun wads are made of HDPE one of the slowest biodegrading plastics it is estimated upwards from 400years.

Gun wads are made of HDPE one of the slowest biodegrading plastics it is estimated upwards from 400years possibly a thousand. The threat to marine life is well established and easy to understand when looking at the underwater litter line shots of the gun-wads taken off Isle Martin which visually shows how marine mammals can easily mistake the wads for squid.

White-sided Dolpins. Photo by Mark Burges http://www.shetlandnature.net

What we drop matters wherever we are. Recent  Bruck (litter) washed up onto Shetland shores includes a MacDonalds balloon (nearest stores Bergan and Aberdeen) and what we have dropped across Shetland this week will no doubt will be on its journey to an isle nearby or far away on the next high tide tonight. Heres hoping the annual Redd Up litter clean up has picked up all the gun wads off !

 

 

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Shetland Notes 1: Docked

IMG_1280Firmly docked in Shetland I am now happily tied up with the Littoral Art Project for the next 2 months.   Many  Many thanks to North Link Ferries for their support and a smooth crossing on MV Hrossey.

 

 

 

 

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Greeted by a wintery day – I am glad to be back and  to begin making an animation film with JJ Jamieson and to lead educational workshops in partnership with Shetland Amenity Trust to schools and organisations across the islands. We will be investigating the longevity of plastic and ways to creatively help to reduce the waste that’s picked up off beaches every year. This week is the annual Da Voar Redd Up the UK’s biggest spring clean up, the beach clean event that I took part in last year with Scalloway  School

Burwick beach WS before DSCF9507 IMG_1293

On route to spend my first few nights on the West side of the mainland I stop to check out a beautiful beach Sand Sound, perfectly named.  On arriving I see the Redd Up bags mounded up with random objects on top car bumper with nets thrown over and meet nearby resident Mike Barnett collecting litter along the beach. Like thousand’s of other Redd Up volunteers this week he has been well at work picking up and bagging every type of beach litter.   You can see the great work that community members have achieved if you go to the Dunna Chuck Bruck   As Mike bows down picking up pieces of cord and rope in the  wind, he voices what many  volunteers over the past 4 years have said to me about litter picking ‘It becomes so addictive , especially when you know if you leave a piece by next year it will be broken down into 4 pieces then the next 8 pieces …..and on’

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This is a common addiction I sharealong with most beach cleaners i.e. the compulsion to keep going, picking up piece after piece even when you’re tired and its freezing cold and snowing like today! The compulsion is that the more you pick up the cleaner you leave it, which is of course true BUT sadly we know only too well it’s only a temporary fix.  The gratifying ‘high’ only lasts until the next spring tides

My aim in creating this project and travelling to communities on the frontline of the issue is to inspire us to find ways to reduce the waste in the system and to be more sustainable which inturn allows us to negate the need for this addiction.

Keep tabs on the Littoral story  by clicking  the follow button on this page and confirm with Word Press when prompted. Please pass the link on to as many people as possible and if in Shetland get in touch if you find any plastic rocks ‘Plastiglomerates’ like the ones below  as I am collecting them to use in my work and am happy to pick them up.

IMG_4456  Plastic Rock  Burn beach melted rope plastic rock reveal copy

In the meantime well done to everyone who has/is taking part in the Redd Up here in Shetland and all spring MCS Beach Clean events  around the UK !

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Celebrating – World Environment Day

To celebrate World Environment Day #WED2015 today I crossed the Clyde for a meeting with marine biologist Dr Phillip Cowie at the Millport Field Study Centre FSC on Cumbrae to begin to map out the ‘Guide to Beach Litter’.

Fairly beach  ferry toCumbrae
We began by making a long list of 40 commonly seen litter items, trying to cover items made of different materials , coming from a range of different sources, i.e. originating from the land , the sea and whether they are from commercial or beach users. I will circulate this list around groups such as the Marine Conservation Society  Shetland Dunna Chuck Bruck group and other organisations /groups cleaning beaches around the Scottish coast to see if the list is representational . If anyone reading this list feels I should consider including an item I have not listed that they see in significant numbers please get in touch – use the comment box below or e mail  littoralartproject@btinternt.com

Long list
PLASTIC 1. fibres 2. bottles 3. Gunwads/cartridges 4. Ropes 5.Food wrappers 6.Mussel pegs 7. String /cord 8. Caps/lids 9.barrels 10. Wipes 11.cigarette lighters 12. Drinking straws 13. Work gloves 14.fishing nets/pieces 15.fishing line 16. Melted plastic rocks 17.Strapping bands 18.Plastic pieces 19.Bags 20. Pack Yokes 21. Syringes 22. Pellets/nurdles 23.cotton bud sticks 24.tampon applicators 25.sanitary ware strips
POLYSTYRENE /STYRENE 26..Polystyrene pieces 27.Foam
METAL 28.Aerosol cans 29.Drinks cans 30.BBQ disposable 31. Scrap metal 32.Batteries 33.Foil food containers
RUBBER 34.Balloons 35.Tyres WOOD 36.Pallets/crate GLASS 37.Bottles CERAMIC 38.pottery   OTHER 39. Tarmac 40. Concrete

Millport visit 2  Millport Notes

Our conversation on litter items ranged widely interestingly discussing the least hazardous materials first – glass and ceramics – which once they have been rounded with the wave action they pose a relatively small hazard to marine organisms the wider environment and ourselves. From here we launched into the plastic abyss and we noted down the vast array of hazards they pose to all organisms including our selves touching on the research studies now taking place of the effects of plastics if/when eaten by us in seafood.

Strapping black Burwick  DSCF9521 Plastic bag scottish CU Burn beach melted rope
The plastic items will undoubtedly make up the biggest section on the guide, as more and more items like work gloves we call ‘rubber gloves’ are now commonly made out plastic. A reflection of the plastic nature of our world . Clear images of the litter items, like the one below will be used in the Guide with simple descriptions which will include usual dimensions and the material/s

Plastic Rock
This #WED2015 has been a wonderfully positive day thanks to donations given in response to my Crowd Funding appeal last month.

The next step is to raise the remaining money needed. So far £675 has been received and this will cover the photography work and first draft of the text , the remaining pledged money (another £530 ) will cover the consultation process, editing, design and layout work. I am still looking to raise £1,800 to print the Guide, please get in touch with any suggestions.
New and pledged donations can be made through PayPal using the project email address littoralartproject@btinternet.com press ‘pay for goods & services’. If in doubt go to the Sponsorship page.  Don’t forget to leave a message if you would like to receive a reward of a Guide or beach litter key ring. Many thanks.      I will keep you all updated on the progress of this piece of artwork.

 

 

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Exploring ideas in the Shetland Isles (1)

13.5.15: Arrived Sumburgh Airport

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Plastic toy plane found on Shetland beach last week

I flew to the Shetland Isles to explore ideas in person with Sita Goudie of the Shetland Amenity Trust to  discuss ideas of creatively working together  to  deliver a Shetland Littoral Art Project  in the future. I was met by Jane Outram the Trust’s Environmental Awareness Officer who within the first hour introduced me to Angela Hunt manager of Sumburgh Head and gave me a fascinating tour of this  fantastic heritage centre with working ligthouse, bird reserve and arts venue.
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Sumburgh Head Lighthouse has played many important roles saving mariners lives  and through out the war with its temporary radar station.

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The Lighthouse  seemed a pertinent start to our discussions together as we walked passed a chute in the wall down which waste used to be dropped into the sea and then examined a metre high bone from a sperm whale’s head which had washed up nearby tangled in fishing nets. Some patterns of behavior have changed dropping waste directly from lighthouses is illegal in most countries, but its estimated that we dump 6.4 million tonnes of litter into the sea every year.

15.5.15  I was able to join  77 pupil plus teachers from the Scalloway  Primary School for the last 2015 Da Voar Redd Up (Spring Clean up) event organised by the Shetland Amenity Trust (SAT). The S.A.T  have managed to encourage more and more of the communities around Shetland to join in with collecting litter from beaches, roadsides cliff tops all events are catalogued on the Dunna Chuck Bruck Facebook page

Friday’s task was to clean Burwick beach a mile NW from the school. This is the third year that the school as risen to the task and spirits were high as 5-12year old children walked over the hill and down to the beach.

Burwick beach MS before 2

The beach I took in was as bad as the beach that started me off on this Littoral Journey in 2012

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For me the mounds of  broken down rope fibres 1/2 m deep that almost created a plastic raised beach at the top of the littoral zone was painful to see.  As I  scooped and pulled at the matted fibres to bag it up. I was thinking that this is where rolls of seaweed should have been lying, thoughts especially coupled with the knowledge that hundreds of thousands of organisms will have ingested such fibres the effects of which are still to be understood.

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Burwick beach WS before   DSCF9530

In total 254 bags of litter were filled and removed from the beach, while  there was still much left to do a significant difference was made.  Well done to everyone who took place especially the youngest members of the team. Millions of reasons to work together to devise creative ideas to help to change our behavior which presently allows this to happen.