The Yorkshire-based co-founder of social enterprise Be The Future has ‘washed up’ on the shores of Runswick Bay as a reclaimed waste mermaid, to highlight the sheer amount of plastic waste in the sea for World Ocean Day.
Helen Hill from Bradford created her costume, weighing in at 6kg and four metres long, using hundreds of plastic bottles, a broken tent, broken toys and other waste products. She says 42 such costumes would be needed to reflect the amount of plastic that’s tipped into the sea every second.
Be The Future is set to crowdfund to raise £18,000 to help launch ‘EDUtainment’ kits aimed at young children to engage them on the topic of climate change. The “EDUtainers” are about to launch a crowdfund to raise £18,000 to help them launch new ‘EDUtainment’ kits combining learning with fun activities. Featuring a new book, game and activity pack aimed at young kids (age 4 to 7) bursting with hope, wit and playful action to engage them on the topic of climate change.
It comes as a survey of 2,000 people in the UK by Be The Future shows over a third of parents (37%) would love to teach their kids more about climate change if they had the right tools or ideas. Two in five parents (42%) said they aim to teach their kids as much as they can about climate change and a similar number (38%) said they’re not worried about sharing the realities of it with their children – even if it might scare them.
Helen Hill said: “As David Attenborough famously said, “what happens next is up to every one of us” – but crucially this doesn’t have to be a scary fact. Our collective fear, anger and paralysis won’t turn this climate beast around – nurturing a reaction of active hope rather than despair is the only way forward. Our reclaimed waste mermaid tails symbolise the fact that one of the best ways to engage and teach kids about climate change is through play.
“The new Little Mermaid film has been released by Disney – and with UNESCO saying that by 2050, plastic will likely outweigh all fish in the sea, it’s the perfect opportunity to raise awareness about the sheer amount of plastic pollution in the sea for World Ocean Day.”
