As the oceans are drowning in plastic, our albatross takes flight in Fitzjames

During our Festival of Wellbeing, local artist and sculptor, Fiona Campbell, came to Hazlegrove to design and create a piece of sculpture with pupils.

Inspired by the state of our oceans and the plight of sea birds, Fiona and the children created an albatross made out of recycled wire and plastic. Click here to see all the photographs of the creation.

Recently, Fiona came back to Hazlegrove to see where the albatross has been installed and to talk to some Year 8 pupils about the problems of plastic on our environment. The children had many questions about the plastic islands near Hawaii that have collected there naturally by ocean currents. They wanted to know if it is true that plastic is in the fish we eat and if plastic is now in the food chain. They wanted to talk about toxins multiplying as they go up the food chain. Mostly, they were just horrified by all the facts now being broadcast in the media about the state of our oceans, and they wanted to ask Fiona if what they have heard is true. They wanted to know if there is any immediate substitute for plastic and learnt that bamboo is now an alternative and that companies like IKEA are now using packaging made from mushrooms. Simple mycelium filaments can be grown to replace different types of oil-based plastics. Finally, the children wanted to know if Fiona could give them any recommendations for their generation and the answer is simple: Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

The Year 8 pupils came away from the session more informed, determined to do more and proud of the albatross they created. They view it as a symbol of our world’s plight and look at it with hope for the future.

“My inspiration for the Albatross originated from learning about Chris Jordan’s experiences in Midway, where he found numerous dead albatross chicks, and inside, their stomachs were filled with shards of plastic. These are images, which disturbed me deeply and left me in tears. Plastic floats and is often brightly coloured. The adult albatross swoops down thinking it is fish and feeds it to its young with deadly results. I recently went to see the film ‘A Plastic Ocean’. The film reveals some incredibly hard-hitting facts about our current situation: micro plastic is in every single organism in our seas and 80% of plastic from landfills leaks into the ocean. I am hopeful for the future, it is quite late in the day, but nature is tough and hopefully, will adapt.” Fiona Campbell.

Fiona Campbell will be giving a talk about her work, which will include the albatross project, at the 'Ocean Matters' event on Saturday, 26 May 2018 at 4.30pm, at Bristol Aquarium.

Click here to see more photographs of the albatross in flight.