Story
I'll be wild swimming wetsuit free every day in July from midsummer's day onwards!.....
I love swimming and I've been a 'wild swimmer' for as long as I can remember, swimming in lakes and the sea, certainly long before the phrase was coined.
When I recently heard about the Outdoor Swimming Society's Dip a Day challenge, inspired by others who swam through the winter months I decided to take up the baton for the month of July and raise funds for the Marine Conservation Society.
I swim in the sea a lot. Sometimes overlooked by an inquisitive seal or guillemots and razorbills flying overhead, dolphins or porpoises in the distance. A beach feels like home, sand or pebbles between my toes, smell of the ozone, sound of the waves, rocks against the sky, reflections of light on water, every day or night something new....I love being out there, immersed in nature and with a retrospective view of the coast, salt on skin, floating.....it's exhilarating!
I'm shocked though at the amount of plastic that litters our beaches these days. I pick litter whenever I see it, however there are so many tiny pieces of plastic that it's impossible to pick it all. It's caught up in the seaweed which I collect to use in the gardens where I work. The waste we humans produce and the mindlessness of how we treat the natural world saddens and frustrates me sometimes.
MCS's campaign for June to cut out plastic use has really made me mindful of how much plastic is everywhere in our lives and how much I use on a daily basis. Plastic is everywhere! We are drowning in it! Just look at the shelves at the supermarket!
MCS do much important work for the welfare and conservation of our earth's marine environment and it's wildlife and I hope you'll agree they are well worth supporting. Please visit their website for more info.
'Dip a Day July' will be an artist's journey through water as I record my swims with drawings, paintings and photos. I'm going to experiment with watercolour which is a new medium for me. Abstract ...no expectation ...exploration ....dive in and see what emerges! I'll begin on Midsummer's Day 21st June and swim every day until the end of July, visiting some of my favourite swim spots here in North Devon as well as exploring some new places along the way. Some days I will swim alone and sometimes with others. If you'd like to join me let me know. Follow me on Facebook 'Dip a day July for the Marine Conservation Society'
I hope to see you in the water!
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