Tim Lock
Man on a mission
Fundraising for Marine Conservation Society
Story
Hello there!
Thank you for visiting my fundraising page. What started out as a backpacking holiday to the UK has turned into something much, much more! I decided to highlight the problems of marine litter on Scotland’s beautiful beaches by travelling from beach to beach to do my best to rid them of what has been unfortuntely labelled in such a comical way as "flotsum and jetsum". It is a serious issue globally and has to be addressed before we suffocate ourselves in a our own waste.
I am raising funds to sponsor as many people as possible (with a goal of six) onto incredibly powerful and practical international marine conservation and educational programs run by UK based, non-profit, non govt organisation, Frontier (check them out - www.frontier.ac.uk). I believe strongly that everyone in the world deserves the opportunity to involve themselves and be a part of a global movement in environmental conservation, no matter what their background. And considering these programs cost in excess of £4000 per person, including travel, the sum which needs to be raised is in the region of £26,000 (taking into account varying flight and course costs.
It started out as a 5000km walk around the coastlands, highlands and islands of Scotland, but I couldn't help myself and I had to begin collecting the rivers of trash on the roadsides I was walking through. It was as colourful to the eye as a rainbow, but it stank, visually and odorly. "Walking the Ditch" I called it.
As it had evolved successfully from the over-killed and straight forward walk to a mass clean of the roadsides, I was open to new avenues to explore. So since then, I have dropped the walk and am now by any means possible moving to as many beaches as I can fit in before the Scottish freeze over, and if the money isn't raised by then, I shall continue when we all thaw.
The first beach which inspired the evolution was a volcanic creation on the Isle of Mull called Carsaig Bay. Most dramatic cliffsides and rock formations, but the compostition just wasn't quite right with the poly plague so present in the foreground. So two and half weeks was spent here gathering and sorting mountains of plastic products for council collection. And the new direction had kicked off. Since Carsaig, I have scoured the shores of Kilchoan; on the Ardnarmurchan Peninsular, Leckmelm; at LochBroom, Reiff; at Wester Ross, Altandhu; also at Wester Ross, The Gauldrons; Machrihanish near Campletown, and the shores surrounding Campletown Loch and Duvass Island.
Some of these coast lines have been cared for yet some have never been cleaned in the 40 odd years it has been thumped by the tides and its poly gifts. So far I would estimate 11 tonnes of rubbish, predomianantly plastic, have been cleared from the shores of the Scottish coast and I intend to add to that figure as time passes.
To all the communities who have been of assistance by means of co-ordination of tractors quad bikes and other vehicles and their support of my need to eat, a very big appreciative thankyou.
A friend, Lucy Beattie, who runs Leckmelm Farm, near Ullapool, introduced me to the work of the Marine Conservation Society (www.mcsuk.org), Lucy is a volunteer beach cleaner for the Marine Conservation Society, and if you are inspired to clean your nearest beach, please go to www.adoptabeach.org.uk.
She kindly gave me the following quote; "Tim is an environmental pioneer and quite selfless and inspirational. He is no hippy bum, but puts in hard work every day - up at 7am to start his clean-up.
"The beach cleans have not only benefited the ecosystem. Locals and tourists alike have noticed and appreciated Tim's work. As tourism is one of Scotland's biggest earners at this time of year the cleanliness of a beach could really make a lasting impression on visitors."
I would like to note a Environmental Consultancy firm, JIG based in Glasgow, who have supported the beaches and their local environment and have sponsored me with gear that will take me into the harsh weathers of winter. A excellent example of the corporate world holding up its environmental integrity - Congratulations is deserved!
From here I hope to visit the likes of The Isle of Skye, The Outer Hebridies, and possibly the East coast, but each day is its' own and I leave the destination s in the hands of fate.
I have found it at times to be a demoralising job and I have learned that I cannot look up when I am on each collection. If I do and see how much there is to go, my heart sinks. And with the 100's of garbage bags, all weighing around 10kg each, the mountains of recyclable plastic pieces and rope up off the beach, it seems like it has not even made a dent. But, you have to just keep going. Load after load, and eventually it will look a bit better. Motivation comes from the knowledge that the local communities, very small as they are, will remember this for a long time to come. And an increased level of appreciation for their environment, locally and abroad, is the whole point.
If you have been inspired in any way by this or appreciate the efforts, please dig deep and sponsor online. Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Marine Conservation Society will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.
Once funds have been raised, I shall, at my own cost, travel to the six corners of the globe in search of people who would benefit from these programs and be able to take their experiences and teachings and pass them on to many more and implement stratagies into their own environmental surroundings. This is not a fundraiser to any particualr charity where you not see where money raised goes, if you wish to follow the experiences of the people involved or have any inquiries, please feel free to contact me on beachclean_scot@hotmail.com.
If you are unable to support financially, there are millions of tonnes of waste products that are in dire need of collection and in the best case scenario, recycling.
As an old Amish saying goes -
"We did not inherit the land from our Fathers, we are simply borrowing it from our children"
Many thanks for your support and have a wonderful day!
Tim Lock