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The Flipflopi Project, Saturday 22nd February 1:30 - 4:00pm, South Machar Macho' Community Centre, Whithorn
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Brought to you by Dumfries & Galloway Climate Hub. The Flipflopi Project. South Machars Community Centre, Whithorn was held on Saturday 22nd February 1.30-4pm
All were welcome for a talk by Dr. Simon Benson, naval architect for the wildly inspirational Flipflopi Project in Lamu, Kenya, who have created a hyperlocal circular economy building traditional boats from locally retrieved, recycled and repurposed waste plastics – and the first fully recycled ocean going dhow in the world!!!!
They also train young people in traditional boat building techniques, as we do in Galloway. The talk will be followed by a visit to traditional wooden boatbuilder Gail McGarva’s tribute to a St. Ayles skiff, through which she has been training young apprentices for Building Futures Galloway.
This was a free event and free community transport was available from Stranraer.
Skillshare Event
A very successful event was held on 21st January 2025.
This online event comprised of several short talks by beachcleaners or artists with different practices informed by marine debris:
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Short talks + breakout rooms
Speakers: Steve Green (Clean Ocean Sailing)
Rebecca Johncocks (Shore to Floor)
Catriona Spink (Ocean Gives)
More information about the award application
SIF recognised that when beach litter was being discussed it was not reflecting the volumes and type of marine litter impacting island communities. Through working with the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) we sought to give island communities a louder voice by gathering data through an internationally agreed methodology. SIF members have worked hard to complete as many marine litter surveys as possible to build a robust dataset to evidence the need for specific action to reduce the distinct types of marine litter washing up on their beaches.
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Thanks to the efforts of SIF membership, 156 island surveys were submitted to the Marine Conservation Society’s Beachwatch programme in 2023, an increase of over 148% in the amount of surveys from across the Scottish Islands compared to 2022! Results showed that island surveys encountered roughly double the abundance of litter items than did the mainland surveys and also evidenced the significant contribution marine industries make to the island litter complement. This highlights the importance of specific actions to address the main sources of litter that are impacting island coastlines.​
Finalist - RSPB Nature of Scotland Award, November 2024
We were thrilled to announce our project ‘ Island Communities Pushing Back the Marine Litter Tide’ had been shortlisted for the RSPB Nature of Scotland Award in the Coasts and Waters category!
Even though we didn't win, we were finalists out of hundreds of applications
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The Scottish Islands Federation have been turning the tide on marine litter through their extensive efforts to plug the information gap on the scale of the problem on Scottish Island beaches, providing vital evidence to support urgent action to mitigate its detrimental impacts on island communities, wildlife and habitats.​​
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From l. to r: Janet Marshall,, Camille Dressler, Catriona Spink.
As above with Catherine Gemmell of Marine Conservation Society
Quarterly surveys are on-going, and we are keen to hear from any individuals or groups who are interested in getting involved.“It is a great honour for SIF to have been shortlisted for this award and it is down to the dedication of our dedicated Marine Litter Development Officers and all of the volunteers who have contributed tirelessly to the island surveys. Their phenomenal efforts in collecting, quantifying, and removing tens of thousands of litter items from beaches across the Scottish Islands have provided crucial evidence to inform effective mitigation strategies and enhance conservation efforts. This recognition is a testament to their dedication and ongoing hard work, and it is wonderful to see their contributions celebrated in this way. We also owe our thanks firstly for nominating us and secondly for their technical assistance and advice to Marine Conservation Society, it has been a great example of partnership working and also to our main funders Scottish Government, Crown Estates Scotland and Highlands and Islands Environment Fund for making the project financially viable.” David Herriot, chair of the Marine Litter Working Group for SIF.​‘Island Communities Pushing Back the Marine Litter Tide’ was announced as a finalist at the Nature of Scotland Awards Shortlist Reception held at the Scottish Parliament, hosted by Graham Simpson MSP and sponsored by Suntory Global Spirits.