New Job: Science and Environmental Officer

I am extremely pleased to say I have a new position as a Science and Environmental Officer .

I started the position 6 weeks ago and am base off sure on the authorities vessel (NEG III). So far we have conducted environmental surveys, team building and construction of a  new onshore observation lab.

I'm excited about upcoming projects and the upcoming year with the team at north east fisheries authority. Keep posted for more details.

(North Eastern Gaurdian III- NEG)

ne-ifca.gov.uk

Ecoceànica: Turtle Autopsy

We recieved another call about a sick turtle two days ago. We visited her on the beach, some tourists had placed an umbrella over her and were pouring sea water over frequently. Rosanna seemed to think it has inhaled too much air and could no longer sink. Sometime I had no idea was possible and still now writing this I'm think maybe my translation wasn't perfect.
Anyway we placed the turtle in some more permanent shade and promised to come back the following morning to administer medicine and check it's progress.

Unfortunately when we returned the turtle had died during the night. Very sad for the turtle and tourists involved. However, this gave us the opportunity to perform an autopsy. The aim was to primarily determine the cause of death and then check for other bits of interest (i.e plastic in the stomach, other signs of illness). We performed the autopsy right on the beach under the somewhat horrified eyes of tourist however some were fascinated and Rosana quickly too the opportunity to teach onlookers on the biology of a turtle.


First task was the cut through the thick plastron on the underside of the turtle. Luckily a line round the edge can be used as a guide and after 5 minutes the whole plastron section was removed. This revealed a mass of muscle tissue attached each fin. There was a surprising amount of muscle especially on the front two flippers. Rossana cut the muclse out and threw it in a purposely dug hole along with the plastron. Under the muscle was a thin layer of membrane which seperates the muscle from the organs. Down the hole with the membrane unveiling a neatly arranged section of organs.


One by one they were removed and any relavant infortion recorded. The colours of some of the organs were very vivid greens or purples. The eusophgus was very interesting, turned inside out a tube of long spikes could be observed. Apparently turtles don't chew their food like a human would so it passed to the digestive system by rows of spikes with push the food down.


The blood inside the turtle was heavily coagulated and their was also so visible brushing on the plastron leaded us to believe that yet another turtle had falling foul of a boat in the harbour. After swimming with its injury the turtle gave up and retired to the beach where it then died. The turtle was a juville female, sad to see it go but a great opportunity to learn some hands on biology.

Ecoceànica: Los Organos

I've just finished picking out the maggots and changing the bandages for our patient in our house in Los Organos. We have been here almost a week and we have been very busy. One benefit of Los Organos is the fishing pier which juts about 500m into the sea halfway along the long stretch of the beach with makes up Los Organos Bay. Fish are processed here, with the scraps thrown into the sea. This has attracted the interest of turtles and fish which make us of the free and easy meal. In turn torists visit the fishing quay (3 soles) and have the opportunity to swim with the turtles. All well and good the town benefits from the extra tourism and the turtles get a free lunch. There's one major issue however that being a fishing quay it's also frequently visited by boats with seemingly little regard for the turtles. 

This bring us back to 'Jimmy', our patient in our makeshift turtle hospital in our house. Unfortunately Jimmy was hit by what we prosume to be the propeller of a boat which smashed a large hole in his head (see photos). The chairty was called and we rescued him from the fishing quay, unfortunately it seems the flies got to him first. The aim is administer medicine and try our best to keep him alive. After a dose of antibiotics and frequently injecting of saline solution plus daily or twice daily changing of his bandages, Jimmy is still with us after 5 days 🤞

Sadly, I don't think this is an isolated case and the mixuture of boats, turtles plus torists with swimming difficulties make a recipe in terms of the turtle safety. 

Will update on the progress of Jimmy as I go. We think it will take at least a month for any skin to cover the hole.

Ecoceànica Internship

I'm currently in northern Peru, close to the border of Ecuador, where the desert meets the sea. Long stretches of white sandy beaches backed by spectacular wild west style desert. I'm half way through a two month internship with marine conservation NGO Ecoceànica. 

The charity was established to offer some much needed monitoring, preservating and research to the extensive Peruvian coast while offering education to young and old. 

Over the past month we been engaging with a variety of projects. Most frequently is the registration of sharks and rays caught by local fishermen. For this we go to the somewhat chaotic beaches where the fishermen land their boats and plead with them to allow us to measure any sharks and rays they catch. Surprising they are often more than happy to allow us to take measurements and muscle samples of the fish. Rosanna, our main senior at the charity, said it has taken over three years to build a good relationship. One man (Marco) even gave me two fish for my lunch! However, it's very disappointing to see so many tiny (50-80cm) sharks, mostly hammerheads (Sphyrna zygaena) landed. Weirdly the locals don't consider the baby sharks to be sharks. Apparently only the large animals are considered sharks by people of Peru. Crazy, they even have a separate minimus catch size for sharks and tollo (baby shark). 

Another project we frequently help on is the logging of stranded turtles and sealions. There is a surprising amount wash up on the beaches. Over a 2 hour walk along the beach we would usually find at least two of each animal. Most of thm are in the late stages of decomposition but some a more fresh. We take size measurments to be logged in the database along with GPS information. 

Aside from that we have spent time conduction in water habitat assessments for hawksbills turtles which are pass through Peru but no one knows why. Also, going to schools to give talks to the kids and marine life (something I hope to do more of), IDing whale shark photos to be used for a comparison of databases and finally a fair measure of beach cleans (so much plastic!!). Soon we will move to Los Organos a town with many turtles. Learning more and more Spanish everyday but still a long way to go! 

https://www.ecoceanica.org/

Ending my position as Science Officer for Devil's Choice

Master of Research COMPLETED!!

I have now graduated with a distinction (1st) in a Masters of Research in Marine Biology. 

I had a great time during the course I really enjoyed focusing on my research project. Long live the limpets!


Let the adventures continue

Flying Seagulls Project

None marine post but soon I will be running a 10 k run for the Flying Seagulls project who I plan on travelling to Greece with by the end of the to take smiles to those who need it most.

Please see my just giving page for ways to donate.


https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/joe-redfern


I will also be publishing my experience to a separate blog: https://jrflyingseagulls2017.blogspot.com/

Master Project

First Draft of my final MRes project is handed in for review.

Nearly finished!!!

New Role @ UKYCC

I have been selected be join United Kingdom Youth Climate Change Coalition. I am really please to be working alongside Katie as the Youtube and Video managers. Sharing the role with a peer will be great so we can exchange ideas and work on projects together. 

Keep posted here, I will be keeping the blog updated with activity and projects we undertake. 

MBA PhD Conference 2017: Poster Presentation and Talks

Another great opportunity to present my project. This time at the annual MBA PhD conference 2017 this year held in Falmouth:

This year I attended the MBA 2017 PhD conference. I relished the opportunity go to the conference as it is a great opportunity to learn from fellow young scientist, listen to more seasoned professors and also to display my project in poster form.

From the first presentation, from Brendan Godley, I knew the conference would not disappoint and we were install for a host of interesting, informative and above all inspiring talks. Listening to how Brendan had advanced from a undergrad degree to masteres then a PhD before taking to world stage of turtle conservation really ensured me I was on the right track and with a lot of work I could have some success like Brendan.

Watching the PhD presentations I felt we were watching science first hand and with the delivery of a passionate student made it all the more interesting. One talk by Tim Gordon was especially interesting and entertaining. Using sound clips and videos he talk us through the working of coral reef acoustics and how the recent degradation was altering how fish hear the reef, fascinating stuff.

The poster session gave me a great chance to display my project and chat to peers and experts about what I had done so far and what I was hoping to achieve. I really enjoyed the opportunity to describe my project face to face and even enjoyed the questions and query's people had.

Finally, the meal provided a great moment to network and socialise. I made knew friends and saw old faces and feel that this event with benefit me far into the future.  

MBA Council: Poster Presentation

Many thanks to Nova (my supervisor) for offering me the opportunity to present my poster at this years MBA council.

I had some great chats with interesting professors. I even met another researcher working on limpets and we are hoping to meet up and collaborate in the future.

MarClim research group

Always great to have a chance to not only chat about your own project but also great to see the other projects on going at the MBA.

My Project in the Cornish Times: Robot limpets gather climate change data

‘Robo-limpets’ on the South Cornish coast are helping scientists gather data about the effects of climate change.

The realistic gadgets have been placed on rocks at Polhawn, in Whitsand Bay, at Kingsand, and at three other locations in Devon by Joe Redfern from Plymouth’s Marine Biological Association.

Joe created the fake creatures using real limpet shells, placing small temperature loggers inside each empty shell and encasing them in silicon.

The robo-limpets are stuck to the rocks using green resin, and each ‘antenna’ records temperature every 15 minutes; Joe says he will be returning to each location regularly between now and August to collect the data.

Joe is part of a wider team of scientists investigating the impact of climate change on species around our coasts.

http://www.cornish-times.co.uk/article.cfm?id=109575

MBA Oceans Week: Be a Marine Biologist for the Day

In aid of national science week the MBA was hosting several classes of school groups to learn about the science that is conducted at the lab and to be a Marine Biologist for the Day.


I volunteered to help Asling and her team which are mainly responsible conducting fish surveys on board Sepia. No boat action today though- instead we were conducting a murder mystery, the kids being the detectives and the suspects are the fish!

After a brief introduction the kids were given a tray of 4 fish (mackeral, pounting, sardine and dargonet) it was there job to find out which fish was the main victim of a murder. Well 3 murders in fact a snail, a fish and plankton.

Armed with some desecting tools and a helper (me!) the kids had to investigated the fish. The biggest clue was the teeth which depending on there shape could be used to identify what fish was the likely suspect for each victim. After some desecting we found an even bigger clue.. inside the stomach of the pounting we found, much to everyone's excitement, a whole fish head!

It got really messy at points- one kid got some fishy eye juice in the face. Some kids really like smashing and cutting fish but that said everyone seemed to learn something.. me included!

Some keen marine biologist for the day

learning about kelp

Torrey Canyon 50 year anniversary talk: Prof Steve Hawkings

Marking the 50 year anniversary of the Torry Canyon oil spill a special talk was held at the MBA. Prof Steve Hawkings, who has recently been working on deciphering the ecological aftermath of the incident, gave a really interesting presentation.

Luckily, the are long term dataset dating back before the spill which allows baseline data to be established, also due to the nature of the spill some of the coastline wasn't effected, this meant control sites could be used. This allows Steve and his team multiple tools to assess the ecological damage.

He presented photo's of coast that had been impacted by the oil and dispersants used. Interesting the dispersant causes more harm then the oil- however being the first major oil spill ever much of this was unknown at the time. Many cove and beaches around the SW of England received a pulse disturbance meaning a strong impact was presented but it wasn't prolonged. Sites where no dispersant was used recovered it 3-5 years however in sites which were sprayed heavily with dispersants recovery took over 15 years.

Dispersant being sprayed to remove the oil. 

At the time the main interest was the clean

 the beach for humans on hoilday.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/18/torrey-canyon-disaster-uk-worst-ever-oil-spill-50tha-anniversary

Manta Party

Finally got chance to edit some footage my girlfriend and I took last year from Nusa Lembongan... enjoy!

Sepia Boat Survey day with the MBA

Today, I enjoyed a beautiful sunny morning aboard Sepia, the MBAs' research vessel.

We conducted a standard trawl which consists of making two bottom trawls to identify, count and record all life we find. In the trawl we picked up: poor cod, whiting, plaice, octopus, harbour crabs, squid, cuttlefish and more. I can learn alot of see and handling the fish and gain experience from the rest of the crew. 


The MBA has been conducting these surveys for over 100 years making this long-term data set useful to investigate changes and patterns. 

Thanks to all the crew, see you next time. 

Polhawn Beach Clean and Co-Coast Time Survey

This was a joint event organised with the Rame Peninsula Beach Care group 

www.ramepbc.org

and the Co-Coast citizen science project.


Joined a monthly beach clean at Polhawn Beach, which is in the Whitsand and Looe Bay Marine Conservation Zone. Great to see some many people come down to help, young and old. All the rubbish collected in quantified and categorised then the data is used to inform policy markers to try and reduce our input. Good stuff all round I say!

We then conducted a 20 minute timed search at low tide.
I chose the "Like it of Limpet" package and was tasked to spot and identify as many limpet species as possible. Easier said than done. Others picked different packages to get a full insight to what species were on the rocky shore. All data is added to the Co-Coast data bank to be analysed and process.

A good day was had!

Community Seagrass Initiative

Last week I join a great program run at various locations in the UK.

The aim is to record, protect and promote Seagrass habitats around Britain or in their words

"A citizen science project aiming to raise awareness of seagrass habitats in the South West of England."

During the training day we learnt about the ecology and Seagrass and the survey methods used to assess the health and importance of seagrass. 

I'm looking forward to jumping in and helping out with this amazing project aiming to help a really important habitat. 

http://www.csi-seagrass.co.uk/

Co-coast! citizen science project

Today I took part in a training day aimed to teach members of the public how to survey to rocky shores of the UK.

We went through some basic identification and survey techniques before conducting a survey on the shore of the Plymouth Hoe.

The project, which is run for 2 more years, aims to fill a gap of knowledge about the species living on the coast around the whole of the UK. This can be used to track changes caused by human activities such as climate change. 

It's great how the public can get involved in real impact science. 




Want to get involved? 

http://www.capturingourcoast.co.uk/

Back to University..

In September I began an mRes in Marine Biology at the University of Plymouth in partnership with the Marine Biological Association of the UK (MBA).

This is a research orientated degree with only two taught modules and 9 months allocated to research a chosen topic.

Taught modules consist of;

•  Marine Ecology and Conservation
•  Advance Research and Investigation

My chosen field of research will be an investigation into Bio-mimetics on the common limpet (Patella vulgata) with aim to use data collected to modal and predict impacts of a changing climate.


I am enjoying the course so far and even would go as far to say I am enjoying being back in Plymouth.. it has been too long!

The MBA crest

River Survey: Isle Of Man

River Surveys Isle of Man

During a recent visit to the Isle of Man I went on a day out to assist with a river survey on the island. For the past 12 years the department of fisheries and agriculture (DEFRA) have been conducting surveys to assess the abundance of fish in the rivers in order to give each river a classification of quality.

Using electro-fishing they sample the same 30m stretch of different rivers each year. Catching, recording and returning any fish caught. By conducting the surveys year after year they get an indication of the health of the river while assess fish stocks.

Electro-fishing sounds like a brutal way to catch fish but it has all been tested and approved for use. Throughout the day it became more apparent how necessary it was. Using a metal ring connected to a battery, electric current is charged into the water this momentarily stuns the fish while others using nets catch the fish, which are place in holding buckets. The fish we were catching, mostly juvenile trout and salmon and some eels, were often small, hidden under rocks and in fast flowing water. Without the use of electricity it would be near impossible to catch them, it was hard enough using electricity. The fish are then identified and measure. A second pass is then made to catch any fish missed on the first run. An equation is then used to make an estimation on any fish missed on both runs. Finally the fish are return to the river.

We assess three rivers during the day and caught roughly a total of; 65 trout, 115 salmon and 35 eels. 

Beach Clean: Gili Air

One thing you can't help but notice the abundance of marine debris and plastic in Indonesia. 

When we were here last over Dec/Jan it was unbelievable. In the little Gili's, South Lombok there was more plastic than anything else in the water. We spent 30mins collecting bags of the stuff which seemed to be a futile attempt. The locals said it wasn't that bad all year and the currents and tides had brought most of it there but that means its in the water somewhere all year round. 

On Gili Air it hasn't been so bad, you still see more plastic bags floating or rubbish on the ocean floor than you would like to but compared to South Lomboc it's minimal. However, one morning after the full moon, the highest tides of the month brought an array of debris onto the beach. 

There was so much including drift wood, glass bottles and lots of plastic. In 10 minutes of plastic picking we collected 2 big piles. All the plastic was coated in black oil making more dangerous for the environment.

The worst part was the level of micro-plastics which covered the tide line. This is more likely to be eaten and enter the food chain making it even more deadly. The locals were in force helping to clean which was great to see. However I did see one guy pick up a 5 litre jerry can full of black oil. He checked in a couple of times and then swung his arm back to launch it into the ocean. I yelled hold on and stopped it from potential polluting but it showed the level uneducation or inability to deal with the problem of marine debris on the island.



Where does it all come from? Just Indonesia or have the currents brought it from far flung oceans? The next thing, once we collected some plastic, is where will it end up now. We bagged it up which in theory was to be sent to Lomboc to a recycling facility. Its hard to say whether it will ever make it or just end up back in the ocean to start the cycle again...

New dive job: Scallywags Divers- Gili Air, Indonesia

Our time in Australia unfortunately came to an end as our visa expires however the misfortunes was short lived as our next stop was the beautiful Gili Air, Indonesia. 

We arrived to this small tropical beach island by boat ready to get back in the water and looking for dive work.

After a short search we found the lovely Scallywags dive center. The staff were friendly and we immediately felt at home. After a couple of days famil diving to learn the sites Rowan and me were ready to start as full time dive masters. 

The diving here is awesome; with 31c water, crystal clear vis and more turtles than you can shake a reg at. The variety of fish and other marine life is amazing too. The Peacock Mantis Shrimp is a great new character from me on the reef, this exquisite yet bolshy little critter zips in and out of dens in search of prey. Often it squares up to us ready to fight, I love it. 

Peacock Mantis Shrimp

However, like many other spots around the world the reefs here aren't pristine a lack of larger fish shows evidence of unsustainable fishing. The aftermath of previous dynamite fishing is also clear to see. Despite that the reefs make for great diving and recent efforts by the Indonesian governments to stop illegal fishing give an optimistic future. 

Thanks to Megan, Kat, Rebbca, Dave, Ari, Tommy and the all boat boys. You are all legends and it's been great working here.. See you all again!

http://scallywagsresort.com/scuba_diving_gili_islands/

Sea Shepherd Fundraising

After having an amazing time in Cairns it was time to move on. 

We made our way down the East Coast in the van all the way down to Sydney. Then we headed over to Indonesia for a months exploring with our families. We had a amazing time seeing 6 different islands and plenty of beautiful marine life.

Once we returned to Australia we set off on the final leg of our journey in the van from Sydney to Melbourne. This would be our final destination, a place to work and sell our beloved van. 

After a day of job hunting I spotted a team of fundraising wearing Sea Shepherd shirts. After a 5 minute chat I was on the phone to the manager and ready for an interview that afternoon. 

I worked for the next 3 months fundraising for the ocean. Fundraising to stop illegal whaling/fishing, inspiring people to stop shark finning, educating people about captivity/slaughter of dolphins in Japan. I met lots of amazing people and was able to use my knowledge of the marine environment to really inspire people to get behind Sea Shepherd.

It is an amazing charity. I love the hands-on direct action approach they take. Its sets them apart from other charities and is totally necessary as most places they operate are authority voids allowing poaching vessels to do what they want. Without Sea Shepherd the Japanese whalers would still be murdering thousands of whales. A fleet of around 30 illegal poaching vessels would still be in operation.

Thanks to Paul Thompson (manager) and the rest of the team. Special thanks to Will Sadlier for being a great mate to work with and killing it in the A-team

http://www.seashepherd.org.au/

Crown of Thorns Robot killer

A couple of weeks ago I saw an interesting article on BBC news. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-34129490)

It explained a new tool being developed by the QLD government in the ongoing battle against the Crown of Thrones starfish (COTS). The COT is a coral eating monster which is responsible to a great level of decline on the GBR.

The population of COTS have exploded over the last few decades due to excess levels of nutrients dispersed into the oceans. This has enabled a high portion of juveniles to survive, and with 60,000,000 eggs even a 1% increase in survival rates can lead to exponential growth as each generation benefits from the high levels of nutrients. With few predators the COTS have produce huge numbers of coral ravishing individuals. In outbreak areas the density of COT has been so high the level of coral degrades faster then it grows therefore destroying the reefs.


As we returned from another successful day-trip out to the GBR we moored aside the COTS Research Vessel to pick up some
passengers transferring back to land. Two guys came aboard with a large box covered in fragile stickers. My first presumption was the box was full of COTS ready for dissection and investigation. Intrigued I asked what was inside and was given a look.

Inside was a high tech looking submersible called the COTS BOT. This amazing new tech is fitted with 3 cameras capable to detecting COTS by analysing shapes, colour and texture. Once the BOT has detected a COT it moves in for the kill and lowers within striking range. An air powered piston armed with a deadly injection then fires into the COT.
The injections is a newly developed chemical which terminates the animal with a single injection, previously an injection in each arm was required. Armed with this technology the COTS BOT can be programmed with coordinates and launched from a boat while the crew stay dry and watch their
terminator at work.

Its was awesome to see this technology first hand and to talk to the men behind it. Although the COTS BOT is still in a trail period it should be ready for its first mission within a couple of months. This tech could really help the QLD government in its battle with COTS. Currently with only one dive boat to patrol the whole 2,700 km of the GBR they need all the help they can get.

In the morning the dive team disposed of 700 COTS in a single diving session. The COTS BOT will assist the divers but they are still needed as the the COTS can escape death by the BOT by hiding under a rock or in crevices. This is a somewhat futuristic method of ecology control but with such a huge area to cover it seems totally necessary.

https://wiki.qut.edu.au/display/cyphy/COTSBot

Made it to Cairns, got an job: On-board Photographer for Cairns Dive Center

We made it to Cairns, after driving 9,000km over a month from Perth we arrived into Cairns through the amazing Daintree Rainforest. I think in the last two hours of the journey we made more turns on the small winding jungle roads than we did for the previous 8500km.

We arrived on Friday and by Monday I was working on-board Reefkist for Cairns Dive Center (CDC).

My duty is to take photos of the customers through out to day, on the boat and under the water.

Check out some of the photo's I've taken here: http://photosarebetter.tumblr.com/
here is a video i made of general day on board the boat, enjoy!

Diving in Exmouth

Maybe this post should be titled driving in Exmouth because unfortunately not too much diving was done. Instead we spent a good few days driving on the - one road in one road out - system of the Cape Range national park beautiful in its own right but not why we were here.

After setting off from Perth we spent about a week to go the 1000 or so kilometres up the west coast of Australia. Passing an uncountable number of dead kangaroos (far more than live ones), some amazing scenery and a handful of unfriendly locals we arrive to look for work in Exmouth. 

Exmouth itself is a small town which was established due to the navy presence in the area. Now it soaks in the glory of the whale sharks and the Ningaloo reef which brings hosts of tourist eager to pay $350 to swim with a 10m beast. Everything in the town is named after or wore the logo of the reef or the sharks; Ningaloo bottled water, basking shark gym and Ningaloo bowls club to name a few. 

Unfortunately for us we arrived a month or so too late as the tourist season was coming to an end. We spent a week badgering all the shark and scuba diving companies in the area but to no avail. 

After travelling all this way we were determined to dive the Ningaloo but after spending all our savings on dive gear and getting to Exmouth there no way we could afford the $200 each price tag. So after some negotiations and some very kind efforts by the Exmouth Dive Center manager Danellie we agree to do a days work to pay for the days diving. We spent a day cleaning the centres fleet of 6 minivans and pressure washing the floor of the equipment room. The next day were able to go out on the dive boat. 

We went to Marion Island for two dives off the EDC's very nice dive boat. The sites were shallow ~15m but the array of colourful corals was amazing. This area is one of the best in the world to see soft and hard corals and due to the EDC being the only dive center to come here often is pristine and beautiful. Some of the colour has been lost on the photos but you can get some idea. 

Big thanks to Danellie and the EDC for getting us in the water. I would love to come back and dive the navy pier but that will have to be for another year. Now we make our way 6000km to Cairns in the pursuit of work under the waves. 

Fundraising in Perth

For the past 3 months I've been fundraising for the Conservation Council of Western Australia (CCWA).

CCWA or Cons Council is an environmental charity which has been running for around 50 years. They act as a peak body for over 100 different environmental groups over WA as well having thier own campaigns. The big one being to stop shale gas fracking which has only recently started to emerge in WA after being present in the eastern states for a few years.

The process of fracking which was once described as "a green fossil fuel which could be the solution to climate change" is unfortunately neither of those. The high level of methane leakage which occurs during extraction is often overlooked and acts as a potent green house gas. The chemicals used contaminate local water sources and the environment, causing serve health impacts. Even without the environmental or health problems the impact fracking has on local communities is terrible. Usually farming and rural communities are disrupted by the huge scale industrial activities, sometimes less than 1km from their homes. 

With special permission from governments, fracking companies have no need to monitor their environmental impacts and have no need to prove these processes are safe for the environment. They also can by pass trespass laws and use land not owned by them without consent. To me this is madness and proof that if you have enough money you can get away with anything. 

The job itself was ok, like any job it had its good and bad days, I enjoyed promoting a message to protect the environment and hearing the views of the general public. The best days were spent talking to open minded people (mostly at universities) who already had an interest in the environment and were happy to stop, chat and sign up to ccwa. Other days it seemed impossible to get people to stop. With most people passing by with a disgruntled grunt or a 'not today', if you did manage to get someone to stop the next task was to persuade them that handing over thier card details and donating $30 a month was a good thing to do today. Often pretty tricky and depending on the area I could go unsuccessful all day! A twenty minute round in circle conversation with a Christian or group of turned out to be a common feature of the day too. 

On some of the longer days I tried to calculate whether my wages were costing the charity more money than I was collecting but by the time I left I had got a fair few sign ups, one off donations and spread the word about the need to protect the environment to many people, so was happy with my efforts.

Since leaving Perth and heading into outback Australia the anti-fracking fight was much more prevalent and real. Farms, homes and trucks wore the "lock the gate" placard. Used to warn off potential frackers. To the communities here the effects would be felt far more than in the cities. Although it felt good to know there was some connection between the too.

Thanks Duey, Tony and the rest of CCWA crew! 

www.ccwa.org.au

Empty the Tanks- Perth

06/06/2015

Sam, Rowan and me went to a activity to raise awareness and hopefully free cetaceans from captivity.