This just in from the Bioasis Advanced Team, currently based at Yarnin Fort Basecamp:
Mission Control - what are we doing to this planet of ours?
I know you’ve watched the documentaries. We are all aware of the devastating impact of plastic on the natural environment.
We’ve all seen those images - birds, turtles and whales struggling and dying from the plastic in their stomachs. Sure, we reduce, reuse and recycle as much as possible. And we’ve probably all done a few beach cleans in our time too. After all, we all do what we can, right?
So, why was I was so shocked by what I saw in the upper salt marshes of The Bioasis last week.
Perhaps it was that I was in a place once classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Perhaps it was that I was in a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Perhaps it was that it just brought home how utterly huge the challenge is that we face.
Because what I saw is, I know, just the tip of the iceberg.
Environment clean up
We think it will take groups at least a couple of summers to clean up this area. But the sad thing is, we won’t ever be ‘finished’. The high tides and winter storms will simply deposit more. And more.
Reconnecting with nature
Cleaning up plastic is only half the battle. Only if we reconnect humans with nature will we really begin to see progress in protecting our natural world. There is too much of a disconnect between everyday lives, consumerism, the throw away culture, and the fragility of our planet’s eco-systems, oceans and environment.
That has to change if we’re ever to have a chance of restoring our world to what it was.