Donations cannot currently be made to this page

Swimming the English Channel · 29 June 2024

The aim of the Sussex Wildlife Trust is to conserve Sussex landscape, wildlife and its habitats and to use its knowledge and expertise to help the people of Sussex to enjoy, understand and take action.

Story

We are funding the Sussex Kelp Recovery Project because we swim in the sea off Sussex every week.

Kelp was once abundant in Sussex. In the late 1970s the kelp beds between Selsey and Shoreham-by-Sea were abundant, and teemed with life including important commercial species such as European Sea Bass, Black Sea Bream, European Lobster and Common Cuttlefish. But by the end of the century, 96% of the kelp had disappeared, along with the marine life it supported.

Among the factors that caused the kelp to disappear were the great storm of 1987 and intensive fishing activity in the area using heavy trawl nets (trawling) which, when dragged along the seafloor can destroy seabed habitats. ​

A ban on trawling has made a big difference but funding will help the project even more.

We are Miranda (boss boobie), Jo (bouncy boobie), Julia (baby boobie), Sarah (bovvered boobie), Gemma (bantz boobie) and Cathy (bling boobie) and none of us have done anything like this before and are frankly a bit petrified.... but ably coached.by Christine we've been training for over 6 months and are getting stronger by the day. We are funding the Sussex Kelp Restoration Project because we swim in the sea off Sussex every week.

Donation summary

Total
£1,176.34
+ £194.34 Gift Aid
Online
£1,176.34
Offline
£0.00

Charities pay a small fee for our service. Learn more about fees