Cornwall Wildlife Trust Litter Pick up Community Event

On the 16th Of February, we pressed ahead with our planned Cornwall Wildlife Trust litter pick up community event despite Storm Dennis attempting to foil our attempts!

Several hardy souls donned their waterproofs and came along for a really informative chat from Cornwall Wildlife Trust volunteer Marine Data Administrator and Coffee Lounge barista, Emily Corin. She explained the work that goes on at Cornwall Wildlife Trust and the different ways it can benefit our local environment and beyond. The main points she made were as follows:

Cornwall Wildlife Trust runs a range of conservation projects on land and in the sea.  It manages 57 nature reserves, which provide a safe space for nature and offers carbon storage. CWT also works with farmers and landowners. 

 Living Seas Project: 

• Shoresearch – National citizen science survey of the intertidal shore. Volunteers trained to identify and record wildlife on shores across the UK. Biological information used to monitor change, counter potential threats, and is key to designate many of our marine conservation zones. 
• Seasearch – National project for volunteer divers. Useful to identify sites of specific conservation concern and monitor the effectiveness of management. 
• Seaquest SW Project– Monitor marine megafauna using systematic surveys e.g. resident pod of bottlenose dolphins, grey seals etc. 
• Marine Strandings Network– is a licensed recorder for all marine strandings in Cornwall. Cornwall receives the highest number of dead marine mammals stranding each year for a single county in the UK. Investigate causes of death (post- mortem examinations), understand threats to survival, and campaign for changes to manage and mitigate those threats. 
• Your Shore Network- Set up and support marine conservation groups. Volunteers promote the marine environment, engage local communities, conduct surveys and monitoring. For example the newly formed St Ives Bay Marine Group will host a range of public events and this includes Rockpool surveys and silent disco beach cleans! 

 

Living Landscapes Project:

• Operation Hedgehog – Get involved in helping our hedgehogs with initiatives like creating hedgehog highways.
• Cornwall Beaver Project – Working with various universities studying how beaver habitation affects water flow and quality as well as their ecological impact.

 

How you can get involved: 

• Submit a wildlife record using ORKS app or website (orks.org.uk). If you see a species when you’re out and about, upload it! Even better to add a photograph and your exact location. Sightings records improve our understanding of natural history. 
• Volunteer: take part in surveys and local community events run by CWT and your local marine conservation group. 
• Call standings hotline (0345 201 2626) if you see a dead animal washed up, or an animal in distress in the sea. 
• Expand your knowledge on local wildlife and habitats by visiting the CWT website. There is lots of information on species, habitats and action you can take for wildlife, e.g. in your garden. 
• Become a member, from £2.50/month. Newsletters, magazines and training events. 
• Keep an eye out for news and events on social media, especially Facebook (Your Shore Beach Rangers, local marine Groups, Cornwall Wildlife Trust, Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust). 

Find out more on the Cornwall Wildlife Trust website here

Following Emily’s talk, Coffee Lounge manager and Plastic Free St Ives committee member, Emma Fashokun talked about the blight of plastic cable ties in St Ives. All volunteers and children during half term were encouraged to pick these cable ties up and exchange them for a bar of Kernow Chocolate!

 

We also raised funds with a raffle and a lucky prize winner Jennie took home one of our designer St Ives tea towels. If you missed out you can get your tea towel here.

In conclusion we had some success despite the weathers best efforts! However, we will be holding another litter pick up soon. Watch this space, along with our sister company Cornish Gems we hope to raise more awareness and funds for this great local charity this year.

Contributions by Emily Corin.