Watch Group go wild out West!
The Falklands Conservation Watch Group were once again proving their beach-cleaning skills last weekend at Shallow Harbour, West Falkland. Over 60 bags of rubbish were removed from a beach in the South Camp, by 12 of the Watch Group, their leaders and farm owners Ali and Marlene Marsh.
The trip, organised by Sarah Clement earlier in the year, was the first occasion that several of the children had ever been to West Falkland and it was also the first FIGAS flight for Caitlin Burston!
After some doubt that the trip would go ahead following the bomb at Stanley airfield, everyone was relieved when they finally made it out to Shallow Harbour on Saturday morning, arriving on a beautiful west spring day. After some much needed tea and cookies Ali and Marlene took two rover-loads of helpers down to the beach, returning later with a tractor and trailer that provided as much entertainment as practical use! The Watch group worked really hard at clearing the beach, picking up nets, packing bands, miles of polythene packing and other fisheries waste, accumulated over 20 years. When we arrived, the beach appeared multi coloured from a distance, with blue, yellow and green from packing appearing more prevalent than the white sand and boulders. During the course of the work, many were horrified that this could be just dumped at sea and also to learn that 6 penguins and 1 sheep had been killed in recent years on this stretch of beach at Shallow Harbour as a direct result of entanglement. By the end of the day the group had composed a letter to find out what Councillors were going to do about it and were already designing their posters to send out to fishermen.
After some hard work on the beach and some arguments about whether they should walk or ride in the trailer back to the house (sorry kids!), we returned to a bit of a clean up and a welcome slice of birthday cake, courtesy of Emma Harte who reached the grand old age of 9 on Saturday! After this, the Treasure Hunt was laid out and left us in no doubt that next years should be much more difficult and much further apart. The Hunt was finished in 17 minutes and resulted in a near punch-up in the shearing shed over 9 Crunchie bars!
While we were watching the sprinting figures around the settlement in search of chocolate, Ali had been hard at work constructing a barbecue fit for a king, while Marlene prepared chops and spicy ribs. These were quite expertly cooked by Debs Summers who discovered a talent for cooking chops that had gone previously unnoticed. Unfortunately though this did result in some possessiveness about the finished product! Later, around the fire, there were some games and songs, as well as a pyjama party for Emma (in the trailer – again!). Eventually, worn out but happy, the Watch group retired to the beds, mattresses and floors for a much needed nights sleep.
The next morning, Joan Porter took them all out to milk the cows. Most of the group had a go, with the less bold claiming previous expertise in milking gave them an excuse not to participate! After another great Shallow Harbour feast, there was time for some more trailer-based activities and some took the dogs out. After the packing up and some sad goodbyes (mostly to the trailer), it was time to leave.
Thanks to Ali, Marlene and Joan who made us all so incredibly welcome and let us take part in farm life for a day. We hope that your beach stays clean for a couple of years at least and that the Watch group can come out and see you again soon. Also thanks to FIGAS who worked hard to get everyone out there in the face of adversity, and finally to all Standard Chartered Bank for providing sponsorship for the children’s flights.
