“There’s a saying ‘take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footsteps’ and I think everyone should abide by that.”
Those powerful words are not from a politician or an environmental expert, but from 12-year-old Finlay MacDonald, just one of the young eco-warriors from Ullapool who are on a mission to “save our seas” in a movement Greta Thunberg would be proud of.
Run by children for children, the Ullapool Sea Savers are a small but mighty group of articulate, well-informed and dedicated young people who give up their free time to look after our seas and marine life.
Influencing government
It was set up in response to the inspirational work of the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Living Seas Project to engage people in the value of the Wester Ross Marine Protected Area.
But these dynamic young environmentalists are not just litter picking, they are directly influencing Scottish Government policy.
And their extraordinary efforts have had a ripple effect with more young people keen to join the existing 16 members, including Finlay.
“The beach is a few steps out of my doorstep and I see people littering there all the time so I want to do something about it,” said Finlay.
Empowering children
Although Amy Martin feels sad when she thinks about the impact litter can have on marine life, the 11-year-old has a newfound sense of empowerment after leading campaigns with her friends.
“We’re a group of children and we all love the sea,” said Amy.
“We all want people to stop littering and polluting because we know that it kills half the animals in the sea.”
The coast is clear
Armed with stencils and biodegradable paint chalk, Amy and her Sea Savers friends took to the streets of Ullapool in an effort to encourage people not to put litter down the drains.
“Using the paint and stencils, we painted next to drains ‘please don’t litter, the sea starts here’,” said Amy.
“People just put their rubbish down the drain but it goes into the sea and stays there for years.”
Inspiring real change
From octopus and sea turtles to flame shells and white-tailed sea eagles, every child in the group chooses a local species to research and protect.
As part of this Special Champion Initiative, launched by Scottish Environment LINK, the children have joined with MSPs at the Scottish Parliament who also have their own species to look after.
The work between the young people and the MSPs proved so successful that it led to Loch Carron being designated as a Marine Protected Area after a dredger caused serious damage to an extensive flame shell bed.
White tailed-sea eagles
Callum Leon, who keeps a close watch on the local octopus population, has been enthralled to see the marine wildlife grow since the waters secured protected status six years ago.
“I like the feeling that I know I’m doing something,” said Callum, 10.
“My brother Josh was one of the first Sea Savers so I got inspired by him and I was also inspired by Greta Thunberg and David Attenborough.
“All the Sea Savers choose to champion animals that are in our local area so we have dolphins, porpoises, seals, octopus, lots of fascinating animals.
“At the moment, just across the Loch, we have two white-tailed sea eagles and their chicks, which is very exciting.”
Positive change
From day one, Janis Patterson, the group’s organiser, has been blown away by the pioneering young leaders who are positively making an impact not just in Ullapool but in Scotland as a whole.
“It’s all about children being positive,” said Janis.
“What we generally do is say ‘how can we make this better, what can we do to improve this and getting them to think about what it is we’re trying to protect.”
For more information check out the Ullapool Sea Savers on Facebook and their website.