ENVIRONMENT
Taking it further
Purple twiglets and Prince ’ s Prizes
Jane Maddocks has a host of ideas and starting points for anyone hoping to add a sense of mission to their dives in 2023
PHOTO : SIMON ROGERSON
Thinking about how 2023 may pan out is going to be a challenge . By now your hard boat bookings are confirmed , and the branch holiday is in the calendar , deposits paid . Individual divers are thinking about what extra skills and training they might need before they jump into the water from that boat , or dive platform . They may also be thinking about what new and shiny kit would make the dives more productive .
This time of year always makes me think about diving with a purpose . In discussions with so many divers it becomes really clear that if we want to keep our divers engaged and enthusiastic , then getting them involved in a project is a really effective way of keeping members happy . Happy members tend to sign up for the next year , and that must be a good thing .
The challenge is to find a good project . Looking at my inbox there are several out there . Oysters and seagrass are important for reducing particles in the water , and carbon capture . Check out our website for up-to-date information .
How about maerl ? Carbon sequestration at its best . I would be quite interested in sightings of maerl on the South Coast . Tiny purple twiglet looking stuff is what to look for . If you see it , you are looking at a hard seaweed . If you dive Lulworth Banks , then keep your eyes out for the dead twiglets lying in gullies .
How about getting the photographers in the branch to produce a 3D Metadata model of the wreck the branch dives most often ? Perhaps you could then produce a commentary for divers new to the wreck . Your own diver trail , for your own branch .
Many of you will dive inland sites : quarries , rivers , and lakes . There are branch project opportunities here as well . How about producing a plan showing different habitats and species relevant to that site ?
Painted goby on a maerl bed , Helford Estuary , Cornwall
“ With climate change it is apparent that water and pollution are going to be significant issues for all of us ”
There is an amazing project by a group of divers looking at freshwater crayfish that has won the 2022 Prince of Wales Prize . It should be on the British Sub-Aqua Jubilee Trust ( BSAJT ) website by the time you read this . Not only did it win the Prince ’ s Prize , it also had grant funding from the BSAJT .
If you have a good project that would be of interest to divers then get onto the BSAJT website , read the criteria for giving you money , as a grant , and apply . The trustees are always happy to discuss your project plan and application . They want you to be out there diving with a purpose , and then reporting on it .
Make sure your application has ticked all the boxes and you could , for example , get boat fees covered . It always amazes me that , as divers , we don ’ t apply for grant funding often enough .
Sadly , I can ’ t finish this ‘ Taking it Further ’ column without talking sewage and water quality . Southern Water and Thames Water have had a particularly challenging year . With climate change it is apparent that water and pollution are going to be significant issues for all of us in the coming years .
It really won ’ t matter if you dive in the sea , or in inland sites , water quality will be an issue . Pollution from chemicals is so often invisible , and desperately hard to treat .
If you see brown sludge bobbing about on the shoreline – that ’ s only the tip of the iceberg . We need to accept that sewage is only one aspect of pollution . Everything we do and how we do it has a major effect on the water we dive in . Over the next few months BSAC will be looking at how we can make a positive impact on water quality at many levels . Once we have made our plans , we will be asking you to be involved in Taking Them Further . �
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