SHORT FILM: LIVING AND WORKING ON LUNDY ISLAND

Following several sneaky cameo appearances, North Devon's iconic Lundy passenger and supply boat the MS Oldenburg has her own starring role in Living and Working on Lundy Island, the latest short film in the Boat Stories series.

In the Boat Stories series so far we have been up the rivers and out to sea, often catching a glimpse of the Oldenburg as she sails out of Bideford or Ilfracombe. We now travel with her out to Lundy to meet the Island's warden Beccy MacDonald.

On an island with a tiny working population, Lundy workers learn to multi task. Beccy overseas research projects and, working in the field herself, monitors puffins and surveys seals. She meets the Oldenburg as it delivers day trippers, wildlife enthusiasts and researchers and offloads essential supplies - like clotted cream - she keeps visitors informed - running guided walks and snorkel safaris. As a member of the island coastguard team Beccy's radio crackles constantly as she is the contact for all visiting charter boats and fishermen. Along with Jonny, her partner, Beccy fills divers’ air bottles and when housekeeping is stretched in the busy season, like the rest of the team and volunteers, she mucks in to help with bed making!

This short film captures the beauty of the island and its wildlife but also highlights an issue which is having an impact on marine life in North Devon and around the world. 

Boat Stories Producer, Jo Stewart-Smith says "We were walking along the coast path filming Beccy doing her seal survey when she turned and said ‘there’s something here I really want you to film.’ She’d spotted the pale seal with some plastic caught around its neck, which a diver had reported to her. While the other seals, hauled out next to it relaxed, totally chilled, the pale seal was rubbing her neck and scratching at it with her flipper. Beccy explained that unfortunately because Lundy is a rocky island it would be impossible to dart the seal to try and remove the entanglement because she’d jump straight into the sea and drown. 'It may upset people' she said, 'but it is something they should be aware of – the marine litter has quite a negative impact on all our wildlife, even on something as large as a seal.'"

Natalie Gibb from North Devon Coast AONB led Clean Marine project adds “It’s a fabulous film. Although incredibly sad, the example of the entangled seal on Lundy is a great way to put the issue of marine litter into perspective. I’ve seen many distressing images of injured wildlife, but I have never witnessed it directly, especially so close to home. It’s something that I hope many people can all relate to, with it happening right on our doorstep. It also reminds us that every piece of rubbish the Clean Marine and other volunteers pick up is worth removing. It’s that little bit of incentive we all need to keep us going when we head out on our next beach clean.”

Along with the other Boat Stories short films, Living and Working on Lundy can be viewed on the Boat Stories website www.boatstories.co.uk where you can read more about the making of the film.  Additionally, this coming September and October there will be two free Boat Stories celebration events, in Bideford and Ilfracombe, where members of the public will be able to view the complete series of films and meet the contributors and crew.

 

Simon Vacher filming Lundy warden, Beccy MacDonald

MS Oldenburg ferry sailing to Lundy 

Photos copyright Boat Stories Jo Stewart-Smith (All rights reserved)

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The Boat Stories series of short films is available to view free online at www.boatstories.co.uk.

Filmed and edited by Simon Vacher

Music by Rosamund Harper

Directed & produced by Jo Stewart-Smith

B10 Event: Lundy Splash In! Underwater Photography Competition

Wildlife enthusiasts, divers, snorklers and paddlers here is your chance to enter North Devon’s only underwater photography competition, The Lundy Splash In! This year’s Lundy Splash In! is part of the B10 programme of events, celebrating ten years of North Devon’s UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The competition will be held on Saturday 29 June 2013 in the waters around Lundy. The competition costs £20 to enter and entry fees include one night’s camping on the scenic island off the North Devon coast. Lundy with its unique ecosystem both in and out of the water contributes a special element to the diverse variety of habitats making up North Devon’s Biosphere Reserve. Due to its distinctive marine life, Lundy has the UK’s only Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) and the first ever No Take Zone. These designations ensure the protection of the marine area and help preserve this unique place for the future. Beccy MacDonald, the Lundy Warden, told us “This year’s competition is promising to be an excellent one, as the seas around Lundy are already teeming with life. The early plankton blooms have already brought Basking Sharks along with an array of jellyfish species. Those taking part in the competition will be spoilt for choice as always, as the Marine Conservation Zone has so many underwater landscapes and species to choose from such as the favourite subjects of kelp forests, mischievous grey seals and spectacular jewel anemones.” As well as a fabulous opportunity to get up close with Lundy's awe inspiring marine life there is a total prize fund with a value of almost £3000!  Prizes for the competition have been kindly donated by Mares, Olympus, Forth Element, Scuba Travel, Sea & Sea and AP Valves. 

This year’s Lundy Splash In! categories are:

1. Mega to Macro: close-up portraits of marine species
2. Marine Ambience: portraying the MCZ and its spectacular underwater scenery
3. Marine Abstract: down to your imagination

To enter the competition please email warden@lundyisland.co.uk for a pre-registration form as places are limited. The Marisco Tavern will be hosting the after-photography party on the Saturday night with local Celtic folk rock band The Dambuskers providing the party music!
Visit the Lundy MCZ website for more information http://www.lundymcz.org.uk/ and the Lundy Company website for transport and accommodation details http://www.lundyisland.co.uk/.

 
Photos: Compass by James Wright (jellyfish abstract) / Into the Deep by Mark Lavington (Diver)
Copyright all rights reserved

B10 Prize Draw - Trip to Lundy and other fab prizes!

The message of North Devon’s UNESCO Biosphere Reserve is ‘Living and Working in Harmony with Nature’. This message encompasses our daily lives, learning, earning and enjoying our unique natural environment. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Biosphere designation we are running a fabulous free prize draw with prizes highlighting all these aspects of life in the Biosphere. There is a bountiful prize pot full of fabulous prizes donated by Biosphere businesses and individual supporters. For getting out and about in the Biosphere and spotting some of our wonderful wildlife we have a trip to Lundy on the MS Oldenburg, a Wildlife Cruise on the Ilfracombe Princess and even a thrilling Coasteering experience with the Ultimate Adventure Centre in Abbotsham. For arts lovers we have a Quay Drawing outdoor art class, Panto tickets to Sleeping Beauty at The Queen’s Theatre, a family ticket to a Beaford Arts event. Local artisan leather belt maker Louise Middleton of Golden Bear Belts has contributed a bespoke leather belt – as seen in a recent Miss Vogue magazine. And there’s more … here’s the full list of prizes

1. Canvas print by photographer Stephen Ring who produces beautiful photos of landscapes within the Biosphere
2. En plein air (outdoor) drawing class with Quay Drawing
3. Wildlife cruise on Ilfracombe Princess
4. Coasteering with Ultimate Adventure Centre
5. Marshford Organic Veg Box
6. North Devon Theatres family ticket
7. Beaford Arts Event family ticket
8. Biosphere Foundation T Shirts
9. Home Energy Survey by 361 Energy
10. Lundy Island tickets X 2
11. Meeth Quarry Guided Tour
12. Wildlife walk around West Week Farm, Chulmleigh – County Wildlife Site
13. Louise Middleton Golden Bear Belt
14. NDT Friends Classical CDs
15. U3A cook book
16. Tarka Pottery – Potter’s Wheel Experience 

It is free to enter the draw and there are plenty of ways to enter: 
1. Online at www.northdevonb10.org.uk
2. By completing an entry form at one of our B10 events – details on the website and in local what’s on guides
3. By post to B10 Prize Draw, North Devon's Biosphere Reserve, Room 508, Civic Centre, Barnstaple, EX31 1EA 4. by email to amanda.mccormack@devon.gov.uk.

A major setback for our seas. Add your voice today to the marine campaign

Our seas are suffering serious damage and need protection now, according to the Devon Wildlife Trust, in response to the recent ministerial statement which announced a delay on the protection of marine wildlife. Stakeholders across the country had been expecting the government to give the go ahead to designate 127 Marine Conservation Zones across the nation's seas, where some of our most important marine wildlife would be protected. This was to be a landmark moment in protecting our marine environment. Harry Barton, Chief Executive of the Devon Wildlife Trust says, "The statement sends a worrying signal that the Government is dragging its heels on designating the network of sites recommended by stakeholder groups." The proposed network of Marine Conservation Zones includes areas of sea off the coast of Devon, such as Torbay and much of the north coast. In a surprise announcement, the Government has said that it needs more evidence before it takes action. Yesterday's statement by the Natural Environment and Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon gave no firm guarantee that any part of the recommended network will be designated, and confirmed that no sites would be designated before 2013, a year later than planned. Harry Barton says, "There is indisputable evidence that the wildlife in our seas is declining, and that we need urgent action now to conserve it. Wildlife in our seas receives far less protection than on land, and until very recently there has been only one marine nature reserve in English waters - around Lundy, in Devon. This is a once in a generation opportunity to put this right. More than a million people representing fishermen, conservationists and businesses have worked closely together for two years to identify the network of sites, taking the many different interests into account. What more information does the government want before it takes action?" Devon Wildlife Trust agrees with the government's scientific advisers that all 127 sites need to be designated if the network is to work. Harry Barton concluded, "This announcement is a huge disappointment and will put yet more pressure on marine wildlife. This is a time for decisive action, not discussion and delay. The government has said it wants to be the greenest ever. It needs to stand firm in its commitment and deliver the network of protected sites that local stakeholders and scientists have recommended to it." Add your voice today to the marine campaign by signing a Petition Fish scale at www.devonwildlifetrust.org

Thongweed, snakelocks anemone,ballan wrasse (Paul Naylor)