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Marine Life & Conservation

Go Dive raise awareness in Marine Conservation

Published

5 years ago

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Go Dive Scuba Store in Derby have raised awareness of marine conservation issues with nearly 500 school children and over 100 members of the public thanks to a grant from Sea-Changers. The grant was given to raise awareness of marine conservation issues and to inspire the next generation of divers, policy makers and public to make a difference.

Derbyshire can lay claim to being the county with the place furthest from coastal waters anywhere in the United Kingdom. This can mean limited opportunities for the public, and especially school children, to experience, appreciate and enjoy the wonders of the sea. The team at Go Dive recognise that at a time when our oceans are in trouble from over fishing, pollution, lack of protection and climate change there is a unique opportunity to harness our love for the sea and inspire the people of land locked Derbyshire to act to make a change.

James Parsons, owner and shop manager, said: “The funding from Sea-Changers has given us a fantastic opportunity to bring our love of the sea to the public in Derbyshire”.

The funding from Sea-Changers allowed Go Dive to work with two local schools, Bemrose Primary and Holbrook Church of England Primary, to provide school workshops through the Marine Wildlife Roadshow and to hold a public open day. The school workshops addressed issues including plastic pollution and recycling and children even had the opportunity to meet an 8m long Minke whale.

Jason Pass, Head of Primary at Bemrose, said: “The children, from the youngest in Reception to the oldest in Year 6, all really enjoyed the workshops. They learned lots about the effects of pollution and about marine animals. They really enjoyed the fun activities and especially liked the Whale Workshop’s amazing inflatable creatures.”

The workshops at Holbrook Church of England Primary coincided with World Book Day and to mark this the school chose to focus on the book Storm Whale by Benji Davis and rename the day World Whale Book Day. All children came dressed up in sea-themed costumes and it was fantastic to see jelly fish, sharks and even mini divers in the audience.

The public open day on Saturday 7th March was very well attended and featured life size marine mammal models, activities that looked at marine plastic issues, art activities led by Roz Hamer Art and a stand showcasing the PADI Project AWARE flagship citizen-science program, Dive Against Debris. The programme empowers scuba divers to remove marine debris from the ocean and report data on the types, quantities and locations of material collected.

The British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) Midlands branch had a stand with their team on hand to raise awareness of their work. The Midlands branch provide an important network that are able to connect different areas of the country to enable wildlife transfer and mobilise quickly to provide additional support to all coastal areas. In addition, Sally Evans from MSDS Marine was on hand to provide her knowledge of marine mammal bones found on archaeological sites to the public with training in how to identify bones found on the beach.

On Sunday 8th March Go Dive were delighted to let BDMLR use their training facilities free of charge and hosted the first ever Midlands based marine medic training course.

Hazel Waddingham-Lewis, Area Coordinator for the Midlands, said:

“British Divers Marine Life Rescue – Midlands would like to thank Go Dive for their incredible support and free use of facilities over the weekend. This has enabled us to showcase some of the work carried out by over 3,500 volunteer Marine Mammal Medics throughout the UK, including the Midlands volunteer medics who relay rescued seal pups to rehabilitation centres in Cheshire, Norfolk and Lincolnshire for vital treatment. The Marine Mammal Medic course held on Sunday saw another 23 medics qualify from all over the UK, including Scotland, Wales and South West England. As a registered charity we rely solely on donations, therefore none of this would have been possible without the support from Go Dive, their staff, the new volunteer medics and the volunteer instructors from the Midlands and Yorkshire, who gave up their time to instruct“.

Go Dive hope to continue the work to raise awareness of the marine environment and marine conservation challenges with the public, as well as maintain and develop the ways in which they are able to support British Divers Marine Life Rescue.

For more information about Go Dive please visit their website by clicking here.

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Marine Life & Conservation

Shark Trust launches Oceanic 31 Shark Art Auction

Published

2 weeks ago

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November 1, 2024

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After a two-year tour of UK art galleries, community spaces and aquariums, the Shark Trust’s acclaimed Oceanic31 exhibition takes its final bow at the Royal Geographical Society later this month. And the unique collection of artwork, depicting 31 species of oceanic sharks and rays, donated by 31 artists, is now open for bids from art lovers and shark enthusiasts. The online auction, launched today, will close on the 7th December at 8pm (BST). The money raised will support the Shark Trust Oceanics Programme.

People can now bid on 27 of the artworks by visiting this website:

https://superstars-auctions.com/sharktrustauction

It is a chance to own a beautiful piece of original art and to support the Shark Trust. The timing of the auction also means that these would make a very special Christmas gift for any shark-lover.

The diversity of pieces mirrors that of the sharks and rays they represent. You can bid on paintings, digital creations, sculptures, mixed media and more. You can pick your favourite artist or species of shark. Or you can select the perfect artwork to make a statement in your home or office. Whichever you choose, you will be supporting the work to protect these amazing animals.

One of the pieces of art has been selected to be auctioned live by Steve Backshall at the For the Love of Sharks event at the Royal Geographical Society in London on the 29th November. In addition to this, two further pieces will be raffled at this event, giving people a chance to win an incredible piece of shark art. For the Love of Sharks is the Shark Trust’s flagship evening. A night to celebrate sharks. Steve Backshall is the headline speaker at this event that will see other prominent shark advocates join him on stage.

Tickets for the event can be snapped up here:

https://thesharktrust.org.uk/Event/flos24

Those that would like to see the Oceanic 31 exhibition have one final chance. It is being displayed at the Pavilion at the Royal Geographic Society from 26th November until the 7th December. Entry is free.

Find out more here:

https://www.rgs.org/events/upcoming-events/oceanic-31

 Paul Cox, Shark Trust CEO, Said “This exhibition has given us the opportunity to reach out to a new audience. And inspire more people with the wonderful sharks and rays on which our Big Shark Pledge campaign is based. We are immensely grateful to the 31 artists who have worked so hard to create these works.”

Bid for your favourite Oceanic 31 artwork here:
https://superstars-auctions.com/sharktrustauction

Banner Image: Smooth Hammerhead by Alicia Hayden

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Marine Life & Conservation

Meet Steve Backshall in the Bite-Back Prize Draw

Published

4 weeks ago

on

October 21, 2024

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steve backshall

Until 28 November, prizes worth a massive £10,000 – including experiences, products and tuition – feature in a line-up of items that can be won for £5 in an online prize draw to celebrate Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation’s 20th anniversary and help generate crucial funds for the future.

Top of the list of prizes is the chance to spend time with adventurer and wildlife expert Steve Backshall, a workout session with Nat Geo star Aldo Kane, a kayaking trip alongside white-water expert and diver Sal Montgomery and a Zoom call with ‘shark whisperer’ Cristina Zenato.

On top of that, some of the most admired companies in the diving and scuba industry have been quick to support the charity with fabulous prizes that make the £5 ticket price worth more than just a flutter.

Master Liveaboards, BSAC, Midlands Diving Chamber, Go Freediving and Blue Shark Snorkel have all generously donated experience prizes, while celebrated photographer Alex Mustard has donated a print and artists Scott Gleed and Olivier Leger have donated a sculpture and illustration to help boost the fundraising pot.

Fourth Element has donated Ocean Positive gear and LA watch company Nodus has gifted the charity a stunning dive watch. For land lovers, the charity has included a five star London hotel stay at Bankside Hotel plus a family visit to Longleat Safari Park in the roster of prizes.

Campaign director for Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’ve been overwhelmed with support from companies and individuals that we truly admire and who have supported us on our 20 year journey and we’re truly grateful to them all. While we feel incredibly proud of our achievements over the past two decades – and we are super excited about the next chapter – this prize draw isn’t a vanity project. It represents a real lifeline to our work and important advancements in the global protection of sharks. So we hope divers, dive clubs and even bargain hunters grab some tickets to make this a massive success.”

The charity hopes that the prize draw will generate crucial funds to launch a brand new, ground-breaking, campaign to enrol the public and increase support for the protection of sharks around the world.

To enter the competition visit www.bite-back.com/prizedraw. The prize winners will be announced on 1 December 2024.

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