Plastic Free Eastbourne's
Latest News
2023
November's Newsletter
Welcome to our update on our campaign. Once again, you should find topics of interest! Enjoy...
Our Web Manager ~ Gemma Courtney-Davies has been carrying out this role as well as sending out these Newsletters. She has been doing this since August 2021. This is Gemma's 27th Newsletter! She was also responsible for the publicity pages of our Eastbourne Spring Water Festival. She is moving on. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you Gemma so much for all of your work during this time. I wish you well for your future.
I will now introduce you to our new Web Manager ~ Chris Schmidt. He is currently working on a new look website. Please “watch this space” and take a peek in due course.
October's Newsletter
At each location, Plastic Free Eastbourne had a publicity stall. We were very busy. Overall, we had about 100 volunteers, although Adopters went to their own beach and did not need to call at our starting points. We collected about 100 kilos of litter. We gave in data to Marine Conservation Society via their App and data sheets.
We also reported back to Surfers Against Sewage for their “Million Mile Clean” ~ Closely tied to the UN Decade for Ocean Science, the Million Mile Clean will run every year until 2030, mobilising 1 million volunteers to clean over 10 million miles of UK landscape. We contributed to this campaign on 24th September! Well done to all volunteers.
September's Newsletter
Our focus has fallen now on lubricants in wind turbines. These are made from fossil fuels. Now there are alternatives made from biomass. The traditional ones cause mayhem when there are leaks. By contrast, biomass lubricants cause no harm to the environment and can simply be allowed to disperse, without any intervention.
Photograph by Nicholas Docherty
August's Newsletter
This month's newsletter will focus on BHASSEXPLORE.
This voluntary group which began working in Eastbourne in about 2019 is carrying out immense improvements. The name stands for Beachy Head and Seven Sisters Extreme Plastic Object Removal. They began in a most inhospitable place~ at the foot of Beachy Head ~ vertical, towering cliffs, in a tidal zone with poor walking ground. The group has removed TONS of debris. They arranged for the debris to be taken from the area using a volunteer crew from the Marine Voluntary Service, led by Steve Cox. The debris was floated out to the boat and was then taken to Sovereign Harbour for the Council to take it as waste.
July's Newsletter
This month's newsletter will focus on water ~ our "Precious water".
Plastic Free Eastbourne and Refill Eastbourne have been installing Refill Stations around our town over the past few years. These have been added to the network already in place before we began.
We are absolutely sure that this investment in Eastbourne is a vital contribution towards eliminating single-use plastics and encouraging both our townspeople and visitors to use our mains water. We have several more "in the pipeline" to install: Archery, Hampden Park, Western Lawns, Raton, the promenade next to the newly located Defiant Sports.
June's Newsletter
Our lobbying campaign about Biomass Plastics update:
2 events took place to push this campaign on ~
First, Aulden Dunipace, from Chestnut Bio, was one of our speakers at our Conference. He outlined the progress his company has been making: they have created products from biomass that will replace traditional oil-based items because they do not need fossil fuels ~ they should be kept in the ground!
May's Newsletter
The “Living Coast Undersea Experience”, is a unique virtual reality event which allows users to explore the underwater environment of Beachy Head West and Beachy Head East Marine Conservation Zones (Brighton to Beachy Head & then east to Hastings). This area hosts a chalk reef, which is a unique marine environment & home to specialised & endangered species, such as the Short Snouted Seahorse. The date planned for this is Tuesday 30th May.
Plastic Free Eastbourne will be working on this project with K-P Projects. More details and booking links will be shared in next month's Newsletter.
Big Futures Show took place on 25th April, Plastic Free Eastbourne took part with our stall. Hundreds of youngsters attended and many of these made contact with our campaign. We focused on beach clean volunteering, April's monthly challenge and our refill campaign.
April's Newsletter
Our latest Refill Station has been installed at the Devonshire Quarter. We are so grateful to Karl Hopper-Young, who has donated all of the funding for the purchase of the unit as well as for its installation. He is the owner and founder of Sussex Independent Financial Advisers in Hailsham. He is also one of our Platic Free Champions.
Thank you so much, Karl ~ I am sure that everyone reading this message will join me most wholeheartedly in this expression of gratitude!
March's Newsletter
Our latest Refill Station has been installed at the Devonshire Quarter. We are so grateful to Karl Hopper-Young, who has donated all of the funding for the purchase of the unit as well as for its installation. He is the owner and founder of Sussex Independent Financial Advisers in Hailsham. He is also one of our Platic Free Champions.
Thank you so much, Karl ~ I am sure that everyone reading this message will join me most wholeheartedly in this expression of gratitude!
February's Newsletter
On Saturday the 6th of May our King ~ Charles lll ~ will be crowned. There will be so many street parties to celebrate the Coronation, especially on our newly created Bank Holiday on Monday 8th May. This message should be of particular interest to all those of you who are organising and planning your own local event.
With this in mind please do all that you can to make your own arrangements free from single-use plastics. To help, please try to follow the guidance in the attached document by clicking on the button below.
January's Newsletter
Lobbying Campaign
Notpla ~the Uk company which makes plastic from seaweed~ recently won one of the £1 million Earth shot prizes.
In 1962, the ‘Moonshot’ was a challenge set by President John F. Kennedy to reach the seemingly impossible goal of landing a man on the moon within ten years. Inspired by this stunning achievement, Prince William established The Earth shot Prize to uncover and scale the innovative solutions that will repair our planet within the next ten years. The Earth shot Prize took place in Boston, the birthplace of President Kennedy himself, to celebrate not only the 2022 Winners and Finalists but also the city’s own ongoing transformation towards sustainability.
2022
December's Newsletter
This Newsletter is going to be mostly about our Refill Network in Eastbourne. We now have 3 Dolphins in our Eastbourne Pod. The first one was installed along the seafront (Spring Water Way) at Fisherman's Green. The second Dolphin lives in Helen Gardens.
Our third Dolphin can be found on the wall of the toilet block in Gildredge Park. In fact, just after it had been installed, there was an act of vandalism which damaged the Men's toilets but the Refill Station was left unharmed. By the way, one of the perpetrators was caught by the police after having been alerted by our installers!
November's Newsletter
The Great British Beach Clean ~ 25th September: this was a successful event with many Adopters and many volunteers enjoying a fine day. Please view Rosie Clifford's short video of the beach clean.
Here is a short report by Ray Jarvis, who manages our unique Adopt a Beach project,
'On Sunday 25th September some of our Beach Adopters took to their selected beaches for a group beach clean. This was part of the Marine Conservation Society UK's annual Great British Beach Clean. As a result of careful advance planning, the weather was very favourable, so we were able to set up a stall on the beach. The promenade by the Beach Deck café was busy and a lot of people noticed our presence, helped by the Plastic Free Eastbourne's flags flapping in the light breeze. Thanks are due to those helping with enquiries and giving out gloves, and bags and selling the litter pickers.
October's Newsletter
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Breaking News: I am delighted to tell you all about our most recent ”Dolphin” Refill Stations. You will find them:
1. The wall of the disabled toilet in Langney Shopping Centre
2. The wall of the toilet block in Old Town Rec
Duke of Edinburgh Award volunteers. As part of their ambition to gain the coveted Duke of Edinburgh Award, 2 youngsters are volunteering to carry out a series of beach cleans. They have adopted a couple of our beaches and have made a massive impact on their cleanliness. Here are some of their results. Good luck to Louis and Oscar!
September's Newsletter
As you will know from previous newsletters, two Refill Stations have been in Eastbourne for some time now in the form of Dolphins. The company that makes them is Our Only World, based in Polzeath, Cornwall. These are the first ever sold in the whole world and we are excited! They are made from recycled discarded fishing net in Cornwall. 4 more have arrived in Eastbourne and by the time you are reading this newsletter, two more will be up installed and ready for YOU to use!
They are helping to grow our network of about 70 refill stations.
August's Newsletter
Eastbourne has a World First
Two Refill Stations have arrived in our town in the form of Dolphins. The company that makes them is Our Only World, based in Polzeath, Cornwall. These are the first-ever sold in the whole world and we are excited! These are going to be installed in our town to help grow our network of about 70 refill stations. They have a small carbon footprint, being made in Cornwall, England. They are also eco-friendly since the plastic is made from repurposed discarded fishing net in Cornwall. Also, they are attractive and this fact should encourage them to be a popular place for refilling your drinking bottle.
These refill stations will be able to be located by the public using the Refill App ~ free to download and use. Refill is a national network run by the charity ~ City to Sea.
June's Newsletter
“The Sea” competition has ended, winners have been chosen, and prizes will be awarded!
A very popular Eco-Fair took place on Western Lawns with a variety of eco-aware stalls to raise the importance of making efforts to heal our Planet.
A fundraising concert took place in the Crown and Anchor, which is where our Festival Feast took place earlier in the Festival.
Run Wednesdays ran all along our Spring Water Way from Birling Gap National Trust Visitors Centre to Defiant Sports Inclusion Hub in Sovereign Harbour Retail Park ~ visiting our Refill Stations along the route.
March's Newsletter
May's Newsletter
By the time you read this, we will have had our publicity stall taking part in this first of what will be potentially an important annual event.
There were lots of other events which our campaign helped run:
· a Scouts group ~23~ held a beach clean and I made a short presentation to them.
· I made a presentation to Eastbourne Mencap in their Hive Centre. We hope to continue this collaboration
· I made several school presentations for the winners of our recent Creative Writing competition ~ The Sea ~. This was one of the events which were part of our Eastbourne Spring Water Festival, organised by Sue Dixon. The winning entries were of a very high standard. Here are the 3 winning entries from the younger age ranges.
April's Newsletter
Firstly, I want to pay tribute to a very close colleague and friend who has passed away very recently. Claire Sumners was someone who was dedicated to our cause. She was my equivalent in Seaford ~ she was the Plastic Free Community Leader. As well as that, she was the Regional Rep for Surfers Against Sewage. She was my inspiration when I first began campaigning. You will be sorely missed, Claire.
Our “Eastbourne Spring Water Festival 22” ~Celebrating Water ~ is now open for booking and planning. The dates for your diaries, planners and calendars are Friday 13th to Sunday 22nd May 2022. You will all be able to find something to interest you.
Thank you to all of our sponsors and benefactors who are helping to support this Festival. A full list will be published later.
We have been accepted by Aviva again to run a fundraiser. This time we are seeking £1500 as a contribution for a Refill Station in Shinewater Park.
Please contribute whatever you can and also please share this among your contacts, family and friends. There are rewards too for donors: 1 of 10 stainless steel refillable drinking bottles, worth £20 for a donation of £20. 2 pairs of tickets to our Rock and Blues Concert by local group “Southern Spirit” worth £16 a pair for a donation of £50.
February's Newsletter
Breaking news: we are now a member of the Eastbourne Chamber. This will permit our group to have a much wider audience. Also, we hope to be more influential in the business world of our community. Already, several businesses that belong to the Chamber are “Plastic Free Champions”.
Watch this space for more to be accredited! Our membership has been made possible because of the generosity of a benefactor who has paid our joining fee for this year: Go Plastic Pallets ~ Unit 6, Alder Close, BN23 6QF.
Jim Hardisty, who is the Founder and Managing Director has already steered his company to become our 11th Plastic Free Champion. Furthermore, he was the benefactor who funded the distribution of 3 educational books by Ellie Jackson to every state primary school in Eastbourne. We are grateful Jim!
January's Newsletter
Happy New Year to you all!
Welcome to this month's Newsletter. We hope that you will enjoy reading it.
We are now just 9 years away from our target in Eastbourne to being Carbon Neutral by 2030. We need to evaluate how well we have done in this journey. We also need to set targets on an annual basis to check if what we are doing is going to be realistic.
What we would also welcome is for participants to help lead one of our various projects. For example, we now have a volunteer to take on the management of our Adopt a Beach project. More about this excellent development in our next Newsletter!
2021
December's Newsletter
This most successful campaign will have ended by the time you read this newsletter. We had a target of £1500. To date, we have a staggering £3600 with 79 total pledges! East Sussex County Council have joined our fundraising by pledging £1500 through their “Building Stronger Communities Fund”.We are hoping to raise enough funds to pay for a Refill Station at Fishermen's Green.
If you did not notice this campaign and you would like to make a contribution, please email plasticfreeeastbourne@gmail.com.
As a response to this fundraiser a Benefactor has pledged to pay for a Refill Station in the area of the Welcome Building. Watch this space for further details and developments...
November's Newsletter
This is an important element in our campaign. We now already have 40 Champions and we are looking for many more. If you run a business, be it a shop, office-based company or any local business, please contact Sue Dixon (suedixonjwg@gmail.com
or 07736 063397) and she will guide you and help you through the very straightforward process.
STOP PRESS: our most recent (40th) Champion is Little Flower Florist Please support this business which is determined to reduce single-use plastics.
November's Monthly Meeting will be a little later this month: it is happening on Sunday 14th November upstairs at the Crown and Anchor ~ 15-16 Marine Parade, BN21 3DX. This public house is one of our Plastic Free Champions and is a community hub. You are welcome to join this reviewing and planning session each month.
We start at 7pm.
October's Newsletter
Our Monthly Meeting - October's will already have taken place by the time you read this Newsletter. You are welcome to join this reviewing and planning session each month. Our November meeting will be on 14th. Our venue is going to be the Crown and Anchor 15-16 Marine Parade, BN21 3DX. This public house is one of our Plastic Free Champions and is a community hub! We start at 7pm. Our Guest Speaker for November is Paulina von Hellerman. Her topic: “Eastbourne Eco Action 2030 ~ a challenging ambition”: this campaigning group entails contributing to our ambition for our town to be carbon neutral by 2030!
Everyone is welcome.
The minutes from last month's meeting, the Agenda for this next meeting can be found via https://www.plasticfreeeastbourne.co.uk/meetings . The details for the meeting can be found via our Face Book Group ~ Plastic Free Eastbourne “Events”.
September's Newsletter
Our Monthly Meeting - 5th September: you are welcome to join this reviewing and planning session each month. During Covid-19 restrictions, these meetings have been via Zoom or Jitsi. From this month ~September~, we are holding these sessions in our hotels, choosing a different one in turn. Our first 2 (September and October) are going to be in the Lansdowne Hotel, starting at 7 pm. This hotel is one of our Plastic Free Champions!
Our Guest Speaker for September is Oliver Sterno. His topic: “Lobbying government and local politicians to legislate for 'Benign Plastics'” ~ a challenging campaign! Everyone is welcome.
The minutes from last month's meeting, the Agenda for this next meeting can be found via https://www.plasticfreeeastbourne.co.uk/meetings. The details for the meeting can be found via our Facebook Group ~ Plastic Free Eastbourne “Events”.
August's Newsletter
Web Manager - We are delighted to welcome Gemma Courtney-Davies to our campaign. She is part of our Publicity and promotion team - She has produced and shared this months newsletter. More about this development in next months newsletter.
Titan 360 - This company was our official photographer during our Festival. They were more than that as you will see when the visual record is launched for public viewing. There are stunning films and interactive opportunities that will be coming on stream. This is a true 21st Century innovation and we will be seeing a lot more of this company's products.
Stop Press - Our most recent Plastic-Free Champion has just been presented with his award. We welcome Karl Hopper-Young and his company - Sussex Independent Financial Advisers - to join our campaign as our 39th Plastic-Free Champion.
Plastic Free Champions- This is an important element in our campaign. We already have 40 Champions and we are looking for many more.