Emsworth Sailing Club Environmental Plan Launch

Published 21:40 on 2 Mar 2020

Photos from today's launch

Our Blue Planet is under attack. It is believed there is now more plastic in our seas than there are stars in our galaxy. An estimated 51 Trillion micro-plastics exist in our oceans in comparison to 100-400 billion stars. Each year, over one hundred thousand sea mammals and a million seabirds die as a result of pollution. In addition the climate crisis not only causes flooding but changes ocean chemistry, making seas more acidic, with devastating consequences for marine life.

You may well ask what has this got to do with ESC? Or given the enormity of the problems, can I really make a difference? Well the answer to these questions is EVERYTHING and YES! To quote Jane Goodall, the famous primatologist, "You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make."

For ESC's proud heritage of sailing and watersports to continue we need to protect the environment upon which our club, and the sports we love, depend. Over the winter, I've been meeting with Debs Purdy, Jane Scott, Jane Mellor and Ollie to discuss what changes the club can take that help protect our very own 'Blue' - Chichester Harbour. We have already taken some small steps. Ollie has reduced single use plastics in the catering - the biscuits with coffee are no longer individually wrapped in plastic and single use plastic cups have been replaced with reusable ones. All hoses used to wash down boats now have pressure triggers to save water. There is a recycling bin in the wet bar and more arriving for the terrace. Soon we will be reviewing all the waste the club generates to see if there are more ways to avoid incineration and recycle.

But it does not stop here! To move forward and keep improving, we've developed an ambitious Environmental plan for the club. This identifies opportunities to further reduce the club's environmental footprint by: embedding the environment in our operations, making the clubhouse environmentally friendly and working with others in the local community to create positive environment change.

We are launching the Environmental Plan at the club on 7th March at 10.30. We would love to welcome as many of you as possible, to come along and find out about what is being planned. Importantly, we want to hear your suggestions for greening our club. We know there are some very inspirational members who are already taking actions in their own home. Local plastic campaign group 'The Final Straw' will help run a litter pick along the foreshore and in the dinghy park. Following this you will have the chance to enjoy a coffee and Ollie's delicious homemade baking! Other groups involved with the conservation of Chichester Harbour will also be there, so it is a good opportunity to discover what is going on locally.

In our 101st year ESC will need the help of every one of our club members, from our oldest to the youngest, if we are to achieve our environmental goals. We hope by acting together, future ESC members and our children and grandchildren, will be proud of the steps we all made to protect our wonderful Chichester Harbour.

Pegs Field

Emsworth SC Environmental Plan coordinator