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If you are in the marine business, enjoy boating or are a watersports enthusiast, the Green Blue has practical advice and information to help you think and act in an environmentally conscious way. Inland or coastal, individual or boating business, there is something here for you.
By taking a few simple steps, you can keep future costs down and sustain high quality water and local environments. Backed by the British Marine Federation and the Royal Yachting Association, The Green Blue is testing out practical projects, conducting research and providing advice, to help recreational boating go green.
The Green Blue, is pleased to report that it has teamed up again with Volvo to help deliver the 2009 Eco-Challenge grant programme. £20,000 worth of grants is available for Volvo RYA Champion Clubs. Its a a fantastic opportunity to get money for environmental improvements.
Twenty Two clubs across the UK were awarded with cheques of up to £1,000 after entering the 2008 Volvo Eco Challenge,
The Volvo Eco challenge encourages children and young people to look at the environmental impact their club has and to think creatively about how they can improve this with the use of a small grant. Last year’s ideas included harvesting rain water for use as boat wash down, setting up recycling schemes and installing wormeries to dispose of club kitchen waste.
For more inspiration click here to see a list of case studies and practical projects we have developed over the last 4 years. We’ve listed them grouped under the five Volvo Eco-Challenge categories for easy reference. Under publications you’ll also find shore based resources and games for when the weather is too bad to get on the water, as well as ‘How to’ guides, Environmental Code of Conducts and much more besides.
For project entry information visit the Volvo Eco-Challenge website, which is also packed with great information and ideas ranging from Chris Packham’s Top Five Tips for Sailors to case studies on successful projects from 2008?
www.volvocars.co.uk/ecochallenge
The Green Blue, is in search of photos representing the good, bad and funny from out on the water to enter into our ‘The Good, The Bad and The Funny’ photography competition.
With a boating environment theme your pic needs to fit in to one of the three categories; good – some beautiful wildlife, bad – a leaky oil drum or funny - a comedy moment out on the water, send them in and you could be a winner.
There are some fantastic prizes up for grabs including; some great kit from Henri Lloyd, a fabulous Canon camera or it could be the chance to meet record breaking solo sailor Dee Caffari MBE or get a free wash and scrub with Dean and Reddyhoff, MDL or Quay Marina’s. Your winning photo may even feature on the front page of the RYA magazine or make its way onto the pages of the RYA and BMF websites!
There will be prizes for all three categories – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly with two age groups for each category, under and over 16’s. There will also be an overall prize which will be announced and presented at Southampton Boat Show (11 Sept)
So get snapping and you could be a winner of a fabulous prize.All entries need to be submitted by Monday 24 August 2009.
Download the entry form and rules
If you would like to publicise the compeition download our flyer
*Please note any serious environmental issues such as oil leaks should be reported to the relevant authorities (see The Green Blue website for contact details)
Printed images cannot be returned.
The amount of litter on Britain’s beautiful beaches is at its highest level since records began, according to the Marine Conservation Society’s (MCS) Beachwatch 2008 Survey Report published at www.mcsuk.org. The Beachwatch 2008 results show that litter on our beaches has increased by a staggering 110% since the annual survey began in 1994. Average figures for the UK are now at 2,195 litter items/km of beaches surveyed compared to 1,045 items/km in 1994.
At present there are no Government-led plans for tackling marine litter in the UK. In order to turn the tide on rising litter levels, MCS is calling for a coordinated approach from the Scottish Government and other UK Governments to develop a marine litter strategy as soon as possible and deliver it through appropriate Government bodies.
Marine litter kills wildlife, can be hazardous to people and costs millions to clear up. Over 170 species of marine wildlife including seabirds, turtles and whales have been recorded mistaking marine litter for food resulting in starvation, poisoning and fatal stomach blockages.
“Whether you live near the coast or miles inland, we are all connected to the sea. This is a man-made problem. Every piece of litter has an owner and we all need to take responsibility to not drop litter in the first place. MCS wants to see zero waste on Britain’s beaches and our first goal is to halve the litter on Britain’s beaches by 2015. MCS is already working closely with the Scottish Government to help improve beach cleanliness, but more needs to be done to develop a strategy to tackle marine litter in Scotland and throughout the UK, " said Anne Saunders, MCS Scottish Projects Officer.
