2024 was a remarkable year for the Final Straw Foundation

Final Straw Foundation 2024 Summary

2024 was a remarkable year for the Final Straw Foundation. The team kicked off the year with their annual Eastney beach clean, the first of 27 beach cleans in 2024. Thanks to 1782 volunteers, they removed an incredible 2582 kg of litter from our environment. Their education outreach team made a huge impact, teaching 13,512 children about environmental stewardship through workshops, assemblies, and wild beach schools. The Borrow Bag project also flourished, with over 300 kg of fabric diverted from landfills by 398 volunteers, helping remove up to 130,000 plastic bags from circulation. Looking ahead, they are excited to continue working with schools, businesses, and communities in 2025, alongside launching their new accreditation scheme. This initiative will help businesses across all sectors reduce their environmental impact.

MedGardens as an official action within the framework of European marine restoration

MedGardens, restoring our oceans and water

MedGardens as an official action within the framework of European marine restoration. Aligned with the EU Mission “Restoring our oceans and waters”, the Portocolom Bay Marine Restoration project emerges as a key initiative to protect and restore marine ecosystems. With an objective for 2030, this mission seeks to safeguard the health of the oceans and waters through research, innovation, citizen participation and blue investments, playing a vital role in achieving climate neutrality and restoring nature. Watch the video HERE.

UKSA has had another impactful year, empowering thousands of children and young people

UKSA has had another impactful year, empowering thousands of children and young people

UKSA has had another impactful year, empowering thousands of children and young people to develop vital life skills and explore pathways to careers in the maritime industry. Through innovative programmes like the Leave No Child Behind Fund and the Sea.Change Foundation Programme providing transformative residential trips, UKSA is breaking barriers for disadvantaged young people, helping them achieve their full potential. In 2024, UKSA welcomed over 5,000 children and young people, including 653 beneficiaries supported through the Leave No Child Behind Fund. Beneficiaries reported remarkable growth in confidence, resilience, and teamwork – qualities that will shape their future success. With initiatives like the Sea.Change Foundation Programme, UKSA provides a steppingstone into maritime careers. Tailored funding ensures that financial barriers do not stand in the way of ambition, enabling students from diverse backgrounds to train and thrive together.

As UKSA looks ahead, the charity is expanding its reach with ambitious goals for 2025, including the regeneration of its Cowes campus and the launch of a secondary site at Victoria Barracks in East Cowes. These developments will ensure even more young people can access UKSA’s life-changing programmes in a safe and inclusive environment.

The Round Britain eRIB team reflect on their success

Round Britain eRIB 2024 Success

The Round Britain eRIB team have been reflecting on their success and the development of zero emission propulsion in the marine sector. Electra has been sold to a private individual based between London and Norway and will likely be seen on the Thames next year, and then in the protected waters of one of the Norwegian marine conservation areas after that. The performance of the 100% electric powertrain was faultless with challenges limited to data and control systems rather than the powertrain itself. In great condition, the team were able to sell her at a good price and once the accounts are up to date will be able to make charitable donations in the region of £5,000. The team are thankful for all of your support, both financially and with your interest, words and messages. Please now encourage all powerboat users to consider alternative fuels so that we can all see the benefits of zero emission propulsion around our coasts and in our coastal waters.

Sailing Towards Sustainability

Sailing Towards Sustainability

Together with Oceana and North Sails, Ocean Family Foundation hosted a morning event; “Sailing Towards Sustainability”. This engaging gathering brought together the Expeditions Director of Oceana in Europe, Ricardo Aguilar, and sailor Luis Martínez Doreste. They discussed Oceana’s campaign to ban bottom trawling in EU marine protected areas and how the sailing community is stepping up to protect our waters. After the discussion, Barcelona locals were invited to join a tasting of sustainable seafood, showcasing our commitment to the ocean. They also received postcards with the key messages of the campaign and links to stay tuned

Key habitat features of deeper foraging grounds used by the critically endangered hawksbill turtle

Endangered hawksbill turtle in the Seychelles

Yachts for Science is supporting University of Plymouth, Dr Nicolar Foster investigating the key habitat features of deeper foraging grounds used by the critically endangered hawksbill turtle in the Seychelles. This project will assess sites along a range of platforms in the Seychelles to identify key habitat features used by foraging hawksbill turtles. Using a ROV, the team will collect video data on the benthic assemblages at key foraging sites between 30 – 150m. This project will provide essential data on the benthic assemblages at deeper sites on the Seychelles platform that are used as key foraging grounds for the critically endangered hawksbill turtles in the Seychelles. Such data are critical to the development of conservation measures to protect key habitats used by large marine vertebrates and the overall biodiversity of marine ecosystems. For more information, please contact rosie@yachtsforscience.com

A Plastic Planet are intent on focusing on solutions vs problems

A Plastic Planet attends 3 major events in October

A Plastic Planet are intent on focusing on solutions vs problems and this was evident in three major events during October. The NYU Plastic Health Symposium during New York Climate Week brought together the most eminent scientists to explain in detail the impact of plastic and its 16,000 chemicals on human health. Rob Bonta, Attorney General of California, announced that the State are now suing Exxon for the decades of deceit and health consequences of plastic. Sian Sutherland wrapped up the 2 day session with 90 minutes of hope – bringing 5 scalable, viable solutionists on to the stage, demonstrating that plastic can be replaced with nutrient materials that are safe for both nature and humans. The Blue Earth Summit took place on London with 1,500 attendees left feeling hopeful that solutions are already with us. Next up, the 2025 Plastic Solutions Summit with the British Beauty Council gathered major personal care brands and retailers together to discuss collaboration and to agree to collaborate to scale faster.

Oceans Without Borders Community & Conservation ranger, Nassor Ali, hones his coral reef restoration skills

Oceans Without Borders Community & Conservation ranger, Nassor Ali hones his coral reef restoration skills

Thanks to Marine Cultures, Oceans Without Borders Community & Conservation ranger, Nassor Ali, has just had the wonderful opportunity to hone his coral reef restoration skills. The field-based course included coral propagation, coral nursery maintenance and rapid response to coral threats. Marine Cultures has provided foundational capacity building, which has contributed significantly to the success of our Mnemba Island coral nursery project. This project has supported over 7,000 coral colonies to restore degraded local reef sections and develop new artificial reef structures. Learn more HERE.

Electra, the electric boat from the Round Britain eRIB, is for sale

Round Britain eRIB Electra, is for sale

Electra, the powerhouse who successfully got the Round Britain eRIB team to circumnavigate Great Britain in just 31 days, 20 hours and 46 minutes is for sale. Electra is the first electric boat to have gone round Land’s End, and now this record-breaker could be yours. She would suit a marine conservation activity as she has a low freeboard making it easier to work in and out of the water, also she has a large flat deck behind the seats which is useful for kit and equipment. With a double battery configuration, she will go for about 15 hours at 5 knots and with a deep V-shaped hull she is very stable in choppy conditions. For more information please contact admin@roundbritain-erib.org

Through the eyes of 40 artists

Tara Ocean Foundation - The Great Expedition

Through the eyes of 40 artists, the Tara Ocean Foundation and CENTQUATRE-PARIS invite you to discover The Great Expedition. This exhibition explores the richness and fragility of the ocean, combining art and science to raise awareness of environmental issues.
Paintings, sculptures, photos and installations take you on a poetic and engaging journey through marine ecosystems.
📅 16 November 2024 > 2 March 2025
📍 CENTQUATRE-PARIS
🎉 Opening on Saturday 16 November, free preview: to register please click HERE