The Othona Community is a place where people from around the world come together to discover common ground by connecting honestly and living generously, sharing a simple rhythm of daily routine. Othona partners with schools from across the UK to run educational programmes about its unique environment. The estuary is so special it has many environmental designations. It’s marine conservation zone, a Ramsar site for the protection of birds and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The marshland is home to several nature reserves, supported by the Essex Wildlife Trust.

St Peter’s-on-the-Wall is England’s oldest chapel & a place worship for Othona. Countless people pilgrimage to this unique chapel & walk from it to the decommissioned nuclear power station, Bradwell A.

This Chapel, the estuary and the Othona Community are threatened by the Bradwell B development, a new nuclear power station with a footprint 10 times bigger than Bradwell A. The boundary of the building site is shown by the white outline on the map below. It will be a construction site for 14 years and have a devastating effect.

Now, more than ever, places like Othona and the estuary are vital to people’s wellbeing and I feel passionately that they must be preserved for our future generations and for the benefit of the diverse wildlife.

I want to raise awareness of all these issues, but also to do something practical to help. Othona is an off-grid community, determined to be energy self-sufficient. Visitors numbers grow each year, and more electricity is needed. A new wind generator, a source of renewable energy, would solve their power needs but costs £110,000. I want to help them get started and support an investment in renewable not nuclear power, by raising at least £5,000. And maybe together we can do more!

20 years ago, I swam across the Blackwater estuary to raise money for Othona’s warden accommodation. I hope I can still do that swim, aged 57. Your support will motivate me hugely! I plan to swim across on 21st August 2021, at 12 midday, arriving on the other side at 2pm. Anyone is welcome to wave me off, share a toast with me on the other side, or both.

I am an Artist so I will turn this windmill into an Artwork. You donate and I will stencil your name or the name of your business on the windmill as a thank you. I’m looking forward to seeing this windmill, full of colourful bright letters, as a symbol for years to come that we can make a difference.

To hear more about why Bradwell B would devastate Othona and the chapel listen to Tim Fox on Radio 4 (fast forward to 10min) https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000rv5h?fbclid=IwAR0_taiKLcH5zdrLsd46rDXx86TywYYo_yMx-n0rshtM58Z18-Q-72CHhcw

Author Ken Warpole on the Othona Community and staying there during a writers retreat BBC Radio 3 (fast forward to 8 min) : https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000h8cf

More info on the Othona Community, when to visit & how to support them: https://www.othonaessex.org.uk/

More info about me & my art: https://arteekens.weebly.com/