Ian and Ruth Rolls will be co-ordinating the pop-up art event at the National Trust for Jersey’s Wetland Centre in St Ouen’s Bay on the afternoon of Sunday 4 February.
They intend to use beach litter, such as fishing nets and ropes and plastic bottles, to create a herring gull on a wall in the centre’s education room, which is housed in a converted German bunker.
National Trust education officer Jo Stansfield says they want to encourage families to attend to learn about the importance of wetlands and protecting the environment.
‘We shall be promoting the importance of the Island’s wetlands,’ she said. ‘The overarching aim is to attract people who do not use the centre and to show them what they can do to make a difference to the environment and wildlife, and the Island as a whole.’
The idea behind using beach litter to create the mural, she added, was to get people to focus on the problems caused for the environment by plastic which takes such a long time to break down.
World Wetlands Day marks the adoption of the international Convention on Wetlands in 1971. It has been celebrated around the world since 1997 and each year, government agencies, non-governmental organisations and local communities have taken advantage of the opportunity to organise events aimed at raising public awareness of the benefits of wetlands for wildlife and the environment.
To emphasise campaigns to minimise waste, anyone who brings a reusable cup to the event will get a free drink. And there will also be free food provided by local supporters of Olio – a free app connecting people with businesses to save surplus food being wasted. Since Islanders starting signing up last year, 30 local food outlets have joined the scheme saving tonnes of food from being thrown away.
Other free activities taking place between 1 pm and 4 pm will include learning about birdwatching with environmentalist Mike Stentiford and Cris Sellarés from the birds on the Edge conservation project.
