July was an exciting time for us here at Bowling Harbour. We got our teepees out of storage and dusted off our rugs and chairs to host 4 Plastic Free Fridays in July where we encouraged visitors to Bowling Harbour to rethink their use of plastic and to raise awareness of which plastics can and cant be recycled. We went foraging for food in the woodland nearby and collected strawberries, brambles and raspberries and made our own flavoured water from fruit and veg. We also made and gave away over 20 t-shirt bags so that people can reduce their use of plastic bags and make use of unwanted clothing. We’ve also been busy working away on our offgrid workshop space which will be a year long project in partnership with local projects to research and build an outdoor learning space using sustainability energy and old and new practices in off grid living. One of our volunteers was also successful in applying to 02 Think Big Funding and will start her ‘Curiosity Club’ for 8-12 years old later in August.
Volunteers in Mexico have had a tremendously busy month, full of opportunity. We have had programmes ongoing with turtle and whale shark conservationists in Campeche and Baja California, plastic free events at various open air venues including Parque Ximbal and the malecon de La Paz. Our summer school has also gone from strength to strength, with creative and recycling workshops taking centre stage in the three-week programme, and volunteers learning not only about programmes and techniques, but how best to communicate with and encourage young people towards progressive ownership of their local spaces.
In addition to all this, our volunteers have continued to work on the income-diversification & sustainability programme in rural communities right across Campeche, Mexico.
