Training & Events
Stop Poisoning Britain's waters - join us to march for Clean Water: Sunday, 3rd November, London, 11am - 3pm
The Sussex Dolphin Project is asking our supporters to March for Clean Water alongside the team in central London on Sunday, November 3rd.
March for Clean Water is a one-off event organised by River Action to petition the government for clean water throughout the UK.
Central to our core aims is educating the Sussex population on the importance of a healthy marine environment and encouraging action to protect local marine life and habitats. We positively support the march and its environmental objectives.
The inclusive and peaceful rally will be attended by a coalition of water, wildlife and environmental pressure groups, activists and anyone who wants to see an end to the pollution and poison being pumped into our rivers, seas, lakes and waterways.
A wide range of organisations, including the Sussex Wildlife Trust, Surfers Against Sewage, The Rivers Trust, Greenpeace, National Trust, and the RSPB, will join us on the march, the biggest UK gathering focusing solely on water.
England is the only country in the world with an entirely privatised water system, and in the past year the water companies have broken the law, illegally dumping sewage into our waters over 1000 times a day. Paying £78bn in dividends to their shareholders, prosecutions for repeatedly breaking the law has seen only £150m in fines being successfully recouped.
We are supporting all of the other organisations and individuals involved in calling for the government to stop the pollution of Britain’s waters, and reassert everyone’s right to the most basic human need – clean water.
Impassioned water-campaigner and musician Feargal Sharkey is part of the steering crew and will be there on the day. He says: “We call on the Government to end the environmental devastation being inflicted on our rivers, lakes and seas.”
The Sussex Dolphin Project along with supporting organisations is asking the government to put an end to the travesty of our polluted rivers, lakes, sea and reservoirs by:
- Reforming regulation – conduct an immediate root and branch review of Ofwat and the Environment Agency to put a complete stop to any industry knowingly and wantonly polluting our waters for profit and greed.
- Enforcing the law – the laws and regulations are already in place to end water pollution. The new government need to uphold and enforce them.
- Stopping ‘pollution for profit’ – make sure ALL polluting industries invest for the long term, upgrading infrastructure, reducing water wastage and leaks, helping farmers restore habitats, increasing efficient water use everywhere.
Thea Taylor, Managing Director, Sussex Dolphin Project, comments: “The pollution of our waters is a significant issue, not only for aquatic life, but for everything and everyone that depends on it. From increased algal blooms, biodiversity reduction and contamination within the food chain, we are already seeing the detrimental impact of pollution being dumped into our waterways.
“Our waters are not a dumping ground, and the public outrage towards this issue should be more than enough evidence that action needs to be taken.”
Details for March for Clean Water:
Sunday 3rd November, Albert Embankment, London SE1 7HF
Muster: From 11am
March: From 11.45am
Visit https://marchforcleanwater.org to sign-up to attend or get involved and find out more details about the day.
Cetacean survey training
Join us on our one-day course to learn how to research whales, dolphins and porpoises (Cetaceans) on the water!
In this course, you will learn all about our work and the wonderful cetacean species we have off the Sussex coast! We will take you through some of the ways we study these animals and how this research is so valuable for their protection.
Our morning classroom session takes you through the basics of cetacean research methods, environmental data collection and equipment, interaction guidelines, and cetacean behaviours.
After a break for lunch, we then head out onto the water, to put the skills learnt in the morning, into practice.
Our afternoon boat session will head out into our survey area, giving you the opportunity to gain experience working on a vessel. We will go over safety points, practice using the equipment, data collection and enjoy the beautiful Sussex coastline.
For our first year, we are running the course at the introductory price of £150!
Land Watch Course
Become a citizen scientist and help us collect valuable data on our Sussex Cetaceans!
In this 2-hour practical session, you will:
1. Learn all about the Sussex Dolphin Project land watch programme.
2. Meet our researchers and learn how our work is helping to understand the distribution and abundance of dolphins and seals off the Sussex coast.
3. Learn the basics of conducting your own land watch and how to identify any marine mammals you may see, as well as answer any questions you might have.
You will also receive an online training pack, access to our group land watch sessions and support for a year.
Price: £15 pp
Bioblitz
Our conservation corridor at Shoreham Port is coming into summer, meaning that it is the ideal time to survey the area, recording all plant, insect, mammal and bird species present on the site.
With your help in this bioblitz, we can better monitor the area, identifying changes and allowing us to manage the area for peak biodiversity. We are aiming to run several bioblitzes throughout the year looking at how the site changes over the seasons. This data will be used to keep track of how our conservation work is impacting the species seen on-site.
Background: The SPCC is a unique project site, nestled in the industrialised area of Shoreham Port, and bordered by housing, making it an isolated and important first land-fall for migratory butterfly species such as clouded yellow, long-tailed blue and many others. This isolated area hosts a surprising number of habitat types, and our goal is to enhance these to increase biodiversity in this urbanised landscape.
The spring and summer is a great time to see whether our habitat management plan is increasing the number of species on-site as flowers are in bloom, insects are buzzing, and the birds are chirping!
Events
Sussex Dolphin Project runs regular events, including: beach cleans, litter picks and talks.
We also attend local events where you can come and meet the team and find out more about our work.
Click here for the latest events information: