Paddleboarding and plastic pollution: What you can do to help

©Jumpy James.

As paddleboarders we are in a very privileged position to connect with nature and experience the many wonderful benefits for our physical, mental, social and emotional health. 

We explore these benefits in my new book Adventures on the Water – The power of paddleboarding to change lives through the twenty-five inspiring personal essays of incredible paddlers.

It’s important that we look after the environment as a way to say thank you for the joy it brings and ensure that future generations reap the rewards too.

Adding purpose to your paddles with the ideas below will also add to your own wellbeing. Volunteering has been shown to improve your physical and mental wellbeing, teach valuable skills and help build friendships and community connections.

Look after the environment and yourself at the same time!

©Jumpy James.

Here are ten ways you can make a difference:

1.        Litter pick: Do a #2minutebeachclean or litter pick every time you are out on your board. Take a reusable bag and attach it to your board with bungees or use a flexible bucket. Remember to wash your hands before eating and litter pickers can be really useful for those hard to reach spots!www.2minute.org

2.        Biosecurity: Take 2 minutes to Check, Clean, Dry yourself, your kit and your clothes so that you don’t carry invasive non-native species to and from the lake, canal or sea. They have a hugely damaging impact on wildlife. Even a tiny fragment can grow very quickly, decreasing the oxygen in a lake and making it difficult for fish and invertebrates to survive. I use a Biomate portable cleaning system.www.nonnativespecies.org andwww.mudmate.co.uk 

3.        Community cleans: Join an organised plastic pick up event such as Planet Patrol, Paddle UK Big Clean UP or Canal and Rivers Trust. Doing something active with others that makes a difference is so good for you too! Find out morewww.planetpatrol.co andwww.paddleuk.org.uk &www.canalrivertrust.org.uk 

4.        Reduce and reuse: Reduce your own single use plastic when out on the water – take a reusable water bottle, pack a picnic ahead of time in a box or beeswax wraps or make your own energy balls for a snack!

5.        Respect, protect and enjoy: Follow Paddle UK’s Paddler’s Code in association with Natural England and ensure you respect, protect and enjoy.www.paddlerscode.info This includes:

·       Travelling in groups to reduce pollution and congestion and not parking on grass verges

·      Keeping away from gravel beds which are special spawning grounds for fish and other species.

·      Think about breeding and nesting season for birds and keep away. Seewww.bsupa.org.uk for specific guidelines about birdlife. 

6.           Wildlife Care: Be very careful around wildlife such as seals. Watch from a distance, of at least 100m and never for more than 15 minutes. Keep quiet, never approach animals and steer a clear course giving them lots of space that will help them predict your movements. Avoid breeding season and be careful not to disturb the young. If you are concerned about the welfare of a seal, contact the British Divers Marine Life Rescue www.bdmlr.org.uk

7.        Careful kit: Choose kit with a better environmental impact for example, reef safe sunscreen or Yulex wetsuits rather than neoprene, which has a very damaging manufacturing process. See www.thebigsea.org for information on Yulex and neoprene. Alpkitand Zone 3 make Yulex wetsuits.

8.        Car-free paddle trips: Why not leave the car at home and use public transport to reach your launch spot? One of the joys of paddling on canals and urban areas is the chance to let the train or bus take the strain as so many cities and towns are accessible this way. Regent’s Canal in London, Bristol Harbour, Nottingham River Trent and Beeston Canal, the Leeds and Liverpool canal, Windermere, Liverpool St Albert’s Docks and Cullercoats are all wonderful locations and outlined in my booksStand Up Paddleboarding in Great Britain – Beautiful Places to Paddleboard in England, Scotland and Wales and Stand Up Paddleboarding in the Lake District – Beautiful Places to Paddleboard in Cumbria 

9.        Repair and reuse: as the saying goes, the most environmental piece of kit is using the one you already have rather than buying new. If your board is damaged or needs a bit of glow up, have it repaired rather than sending to landfill. Seewww.supservices.co.uk 

10.  Support organisations that educate, advocate and work to hard to look after the environment, such as:

·      Seaful: Seaful’s mission is to help more people reconnect to the ocean and waterways for their mental health and to nurture stewardship of our blue spaces. Its founder Cal Major shares her story in Adventures on the Waterwww.seaful.org.uk

·      Ghost Fishing: Ghost Fishing UK is a charity of highly trained SCUBA divers who remove ghost gear (lost, abandoned or discarded commercial fishing gear) from our oceans with minimal environmental impact.www.ghostfishing.co.uk

·      Surfers Against Sewage: Surfers Against Sewage is an environmental charity of ocean activists campaigning for a thriving ocean and thriving people. Clare Osborn shares her Surfers Against Sewage story in the book.www.sas.org.uk

·      The Wave Project: The Wave Project changes lives through surf therapy including surf and paddleboarding courses to build confidence and help young people living with anxiety and mental health challenges.www.waveproject.co.uk 

I’d love to hear which of these you will add to your next paddle or which you are already doing. Please also get in touch and let me know about your Adventures on the Water atjomoseley@yahoo.com or on Instagram @jomoseley.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Jo Moseley

©Jumpy James.