April 2024
Find out what the HYYM team got up to in April, from attending a conference and running beach cleans to sharing volunteer efforts in our members’ magazine.
Raising awareness and understanding of our work
Credit: Ciara Taylor
As well as representing one of the few projects being delivered for Liverpool Bay SPA and in North East Wales, this was also a great chance learn from other work in the region and identify opportunities for collaborating with other organisations on our Ocean Connection Programme.
We teamed up with RWE and the Gwynt Y Mor offshore windfarm team to deliver two days of Beachwatch training and beach cleans, where over 1,000 litter items weighing over 20kg were collected!
Credit: Ciara Taylor
Finally, we went to Ysgol Penmorfa primary school in Prestatyn to take part in the its career day. Alongside the police force, fire service, architects and others, we represented the environment and inspired future generations to become the marine conservationists of the future. As part of this, we ran some hands-on activities for the children to improve their marine IDing skills – the staff were very impressed by what the students could confidently identify by the end of it!
Collaborating on an international platform
Credit: Ciara Taylor
The HYYM Project acted as a Wales-based case study of Ocean Literacy being applied in practice, with and among Welsh coastal communities. Our HYYM Project Lead delivered a talk to the diverse international student body at UWC Atlantic on what the project is all about, followed by a beach-based session showcasing to the students one of the arts-based methods we’ve adopted to measure ocean literacy growth.
This helped the students push forward with organising and delivering their own Ocean Conference in the next academic year.
Influencing local decision-making
We fed into Barkby Beach Consultation which examined flood defence scheme options for Gronant sands, in the eastern perimeter of the HYYM Prhbn project area.
We contributed feedback from our One Ocean Forum and encouraged the contracted company to consider the impacts of any chosen scheme on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (e.g, local community access to the coast), as well as the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act in how they undertake their public engagement. It was great to be invited to this private consultation and use our expertise to support coastal communities.
Sharing volunteers’ experience with the wider Marine Conservation Society community
Abi Haq, one of our One Ocean Forum members, was interviewed for an article in the charity’s members’ magazine showcasing some of the Marine Conservation Society’s wonderful volunteers and how they’re contributing to our shared goal of restoring ocean health.
Credit: Ciara Taylor
This was a lovely piece and it was great to highlight the efforts and achievements of our volunteer community – and the Forum!
Exploring how to better cater to neurodivergent volunteers
It’s important to create time and apply active listening to our members, particularly those with additional needs. The project team met with a neurodivergent One Ocean Forum member, to further explore volunteer roles in the HYYM Project beyond being a Forum member.
The member fed back positively on how welcoming and inclusive the Forum meetings were, and how well they catered for their neurodivergence. They highlighted how they’ve made a new friend in the Forum who is also neurodivergent and they’ve have already met up to do nature-based activities together.
Having a one-to-one meeting improved the richness of feedback we received, which we can consider and apply in future activities and projects to improve our offerings.