Banter on the Beach

Hi everyone,

Last night we enjoyed a delicious Thai chicken curry cooked by Pippa, Lazza and Hannah. It was so good that one member of the team felt the need to drink a cup full of the sauce to the amazement of some and the disgust of others! Later in the evening we enjoyed a quiz written by Rahul with intellectual questions followed by dancing and singing competitions. It certainly brought out the competitiveness of the group and the #banter was in full flow.

The morning started like every other, preparing our lunches and belongings for the day. Before we set off to Kildonan for the beach clean, we had a briefing with Lucy and Rick about dangers we could encounter, such as sharp objects, flares and needles. Fully prepared we then caught a bus to Kildonan. During the journey there was a fierce debate about the existence of ligers in the wild. The debate was coincidentally resolved a short while later, by a fact written on the front of someone's cereal bar!

At the beach we met Andy from the organisation COAST (Community of Arran Seabed Trust) and he explained to us the potential dangers to wildlife from rubbish on the beach. Armed with litter-pickers and gloves we set off along the beach. As well as the usual items such as bottles, rope and shards of glass, stranger items were also found such as a foam finger, vodka bottles and a playmobile figure. One group also came across a dead seal, whilst another picked up over 100 cotton buds. Cotton buds are a particular problem as many people flush them down the toilet, not realising that the plastic part can cause serious harm to sealife.

During the clean we also had a chance to see seals and otters up close. The team did a great job collecting 5 full bags of rubbish, as well as larger items such as a tyre, an oil container and a fish basket.

We walked to Kildonan hotel where some of the group enjoyed an ice-cream whilst we waited for the bus. James was delighted by the fact that on the route we passed some swings (see picture below). We got a bus back to Brodick, but unfortunately watched our connecting bus drive off without us, meaning we had to walk back to the lodge. However it did allow for a quick stop at the Co-Op to stock up on essential snack items.

A little later on tonight we'll be watching a film about the dangers of rubbish to sealife, as well as discussing plastic pollution to put our beach clean into context.

It's our last night on Arran tonight and it's safe to say the whole group has had a really great time. We'd like to thank Lucy and Rick for an amazing week - we've all learnt lots about conservation and wildlife, contributed back to the island itself, and of course the #banter has been legendary.

Your bloggers today have been Corinne (@corinnespiller), Sarah and Maddie xoxox