June 26, 2023

Sustainability Code 10. Leave Only Ripples

A love song to the ocean

The Ocean is a vast watery playground for us humans and many other creatures. The world is approximately 70% water, and the human body is made up of 60% water. No wonder we feel such a connection to the sea and the ebb and flow of its cycles. It provides us a place to rest, recover, play, reflect. The oceanographer Jaques Costeau once wrote ‘Once it casts its spell, it holds one in its net of wonder forever’. This resonates with our Kayaking community and cultivates a ‘Blue Mind’ effect (the term coined by Easkey Britton describing the physical and mental effects of the ocean).

Our waters look pristine yet on the recent Volvo round the world sailing race every single water sample had microplastics in it. The implications of this are wide reaching through the food chain and toxicity levels. Scientists have also noted that all seabirds and most mammals have quantities of plastic in their stomachs.

Leave Nothing but Ripples, take only pictures and memories. Enjoy the environment and experience it all but minimise your personal impact. Kayaking allows us a very personal experience of our coastal waters fostering a unique connection with the marine environment. Finding joy in the water will ultimately ignite a passion for guarding its wonder. Paddling off the amazing waters of West Cork (conscious) kayakers soak up all of the benefits, mental and physical and these connections are widely shared with the community. If the sea is polluted this directly effects our health as well as the planet.

Islanders in the south pacific introduce themselves describing their homeplace by environment, perhaps the hill, river or bay that they live by. This allows others to understand their location but more importantly communicates their environmental status. If their place is polluted that reflects directly on them personally. Create your introduction, where is your water? Monitoring & Assessment: Freshwater & Marine Publications | Environmental Protection Agency (epa.ie)

#2minutebeachclean remember every piece of rubbish removed is no longer a danger, pick it up. if you have more time collect more or organise a beach clean. Have a party! If possible, switch to more sustainable options and remember reuse/reduce/recycle and refuse, MOST ocean litter comes from land. Every single piece of litter removed will have a positive impact on a global scale.

Clean Coasts facts:

Each person in Ireland produces 65kg of plastic waste per person each year, compared to the EU average of 33kg, making Ireland the largest producer of plastic waste in Europe.
Ireland also has the fifth lowest recycling rate, with 31% of plastic packaging waste produced.
Approximately 9 million tons of plastic waste enter our ocean each year.
Plastic generally takes between 450 and 1,000 years to decompose and plastic

waste is suffocating our ocean.
There are an estimated two million disposable coffee cups a day in Ireland going

into landfill.
Around 22 million plastic bottles are purchased in Ireland each week.