Detour in the North Atlantic

After my time in the United Kingdom, I had one last stop before heading home: a quick detour north to Iceland. I spent a week enjoying the long hours of sunlight and the incredible scenery of the most geologically active place on earth. And a week was certainly not long enough.

When listing out the countries that I planned to visit on this trip, I often got asked the question, "Why Iceland?" Dirty beaches are not typically associated with the remote coastal areas of the far North Atlantic. Initially my answer to this question was that I planned to visit Iceland out of pure curiosity. Although I hadn't heard of much concern on the topic of marine debris in the country, I was aware of the surprising amount of trash that washes ashore on some of the Arctic Islands such as Svalbard, Norway. While flights to such far out islands were reaching well out of my price range, I opted to check out the trash situation in Iceland- an island located within the North Atlantic current system that could be reached without breaking my budget.

To my surprise, I was bombarded with opportunities to join cleanups and volunteer work camps once I arrived in the country. A young, energetic group called Worldwide Friends is very active in beach cleanups all throughout Iceland. They take volunteers from around to globe for extended-stay work camps where they visit some of the most pristine, remote sites in the country to clean the beaches. How I didn't come across this group in my endless online searching is still a puzzle to me, but I was very luck to have happened upon them as I did. Unfortunately I didn't have the time to join all of their projects, so I chose the most feasible and interesting one and booked a trip to the West Fjords for the following morning.

I met with a small group of international volunteers- mostly Europeans and one lovable Canadian- who were busy cleaning the beaches of the West Fjords. We stayed in an abandoned school house in Nupur- a small town on the coast of a jetting fjord with a declared population of 2. The plumbing in the school worked and there was no need for electricity with so many hours of sunlight, so we staked out spots with our sleeping bags on the gymnasium floor and set out during the days to walk the coast lines. Covering between 8 and 12 kilometers per day, we filled quite a few trash bags.

We found a high amount of wood, which I usually choose to overlook as it has little to no impact and can be bulky and too heavy to remove. It took me a few kilometers, however, to realize that all of this wood washing up was actually quite peculiar considering that Iceland has very few trees. Turns out, by the way the currents flow, most of the wood we were finding was likely from Siberia and has been used to heat the homes dotting the tree-less valleys of the West Fjords for years. Amongst the lengthy list of unfavorable impacts that I'd developed over the months, I finally came across an item washing to shore that had benefits and was in fact valued by the locals.

The Geyser area

Beach cleaning in the West Fjords

Isafjordur in the West Fjords

The group trying to remove a large canvas bag- remnants of the supplies dropped by air by U.S. forces during the 70's and 80's

Nupur

A Lion for a Week

After the compulsory visit to Stonehenge, I headed to Porthcawl, Wales- A lovely holiday town just west of Cardiff on the Bristol Channel with a lot of history and plenty of beaches to clean. I was greeted at the bus stop by the smiling faces of David and Janet- the gracious couple who'd offered their home to me during my stay. David is the president of the Porthcawl Lions Club, a very proactive organization that holds an annual beach cleanup in the area. It began as an event to honor the merchant seamen lost during the shipwreck of a steamship off the coast of Porthcawl in the 1940's. Now in it's 3rd year running, the cleanup has been a total success. Joined by a handful of community members and a few other local organizations, we collected over 40 bags of trash within just a few kilometers. As much of the trash is brought to the beach from the rivers coming in from the valleys, most of the items were food wrappers and toiletry items. Although, I did find a police cone that had drifted in from an English city located on the other side of the channel.

I had scheduled a few free days in Wales before and after the cleanup, as my hosts were eager to show me around. Having grown up in the area, they knew more than any tour guide and took me on long drives into the valleys, tours of Cardiff and through more castles than I can count. All the while they recounted fascinating tidbits of Welsh history as well as their own personal stories. It was certainly an unmatchable experience.

On my last night in Porthcawl, the Lions Club surprised me with a reception as a thank you for coming out to help with their beach cleanups. It was a lovely evening of drinks and hors d'oeuvres, and serenades from a local choir. The club presented me with an engraved plaque made of Welsh slate as well as loads of Porthcawl Lions paraphernalia. I was even presented with a town plaque from the mayor herself. This unexpected evening was topped off with an invite for a coastal tour on the town's lifeboat- a highly regarded boat that is part of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution's fleet. Geared up in a dry suit and helmet, I boarded the boat for this rare opportunity. Due to the high tidal changes in the Bristol Channel, the boat is launched atop a fully waterproofed tractor specifically designed for such a task. The entire process was incredible to watch and I felt quite lucky to be apart of it.

The Porthcawl Lions Club, as well as the community as a whole could not have been more gracious to me and I certainly look forward to returning for a visit in the future. Until then, I've been assigned the task to contact my local Lions Club!

My 15 minutes of fame in the local newspaper

God Save the Seas

I have received some of the warmest welcomes since arriving in the UK and have met some really remarkable people in the process. As the academic and public concern for marine debris seems to be quite high here, I have been met with a lot of genuine interest in my project. So, needless to say, my time in the UK has been quite fulfilling!

One of the many highlights of my British experience was spent on the Dorset Coast of Southern England. For several nights I camped on the rolling hills of an organic farm before hiking the Dorset Coast Path along the rocky ridge lines and white cliff edges of the Jurassic Coast to Lulworth Cove. This is where the spectacular "Durdle Door" is located- a natural limestone arch protruding into the waters of the English Channel. Despite it's status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the area suffers the impacts of marine debris. So as the rest of the visitors sunbathed and BBQ'ed, I spent the day cleaning the beach.

A bit farther west along the English Channel is Plymouth- the town best known to Americans as the port of embarkation for the Mayflower in 1620. I spent some time at the University of Plymouth where marine ecologist and biologist, Richard Thompson, is at the forefront of research in what he calls "microplastics," a microscopic form of marine debris likely formed from the breakdown of items such as plastic bags and bottles. By the use of an incredibly powerful mass spectrometer, he is able to positively identify some of the microscopic particles as various types of synthetic, man made polymers. His team is currently trying to assess the environmental impacts of this type of debris. I spoke with one of his graduate students, who is looking into the prevalence of microplastics in the tissues of mussels. I was able to join him while he sampled at a really remote site called Whitsand Bay. And, of course, killing two birds with one stone, I cleaned the beach while I was there, too.

I also spend a good deal of my time in Wales which deserves to be touched upon when I have a bit more time. So stay posted...

Next stop: Reykjavik, Iceland

Cows along the coastal path in Dorset

Durdle Door on the Jurassic Coast and the beach I cleaned

A visit to Witsand Bay with a graduate student from the University of Plymouth

Cleaning on a cold, rainy day along the English Channel

A visit to Stonehenge with the lovely Australian family that invited me along on their holiday