Our project Secrets of the Solent allows us to meet local people from all walks of life who want to protect their seas. Many have joined us as Marine Champions to take action with our support, but we've also heard from a great number of passionate young people.
We wanted to give these under-18s a way to join our fight for marine wildlife, so we're supporting several local secondary schools to host Young Marine Champions. These student volunteers are running marine-focused activities at their schools, and have made fantastic progress in their first few months.
Bitterne Park School have arranged a beach clean, Castle View Academy have run a litter-collecting competition, Ryde Academy have reduced single-use plastics in their cafeteria, and Ryde School with Upper Chine have created a 'swap shop' where students exchange clothes instead of buying new ones. To celebrate these amazing first efforts, we brought the four schools together for a special event at Castle View Academy on 9 December 2019.
After a welcoming introduction the event kicked off with Tim Ferrero, Secrets of the Solent Project Manager, regaling the students with tales from the deep. He spoke about his work as a marine biologist and shared the stories behind some fascinating items like giant barnacles, a dolphin spine, and polystyrene cups compacted by water pressure on deep sea dives.