Alice Lucy Blogs about “The Green Blue”

The Green Blue’ is a national environmental awareness programme, founded by the RYA (Royal Yachting Association) and British Marine in 2005, at the Southampton Boat Show. The aims of the Green Blue are to inspire sustainable recreational boating. We all use the water, and so we as a community play a vital role in helping to protect both our marine and inland waters, as well as having a duty to safeguard the wildlife and habitats within them. The Green Blue aims to improve sustainability by raising awareness of key environmental issues which they have identified. This means that they can provide tailored information, guidance and various resources to help show boaters good practices. Furthermore, they deliver awareness talks, presentations, workshops, educational actives and instructor training. They also discover and raise awareness of more sustainable products and services that are available to boaters by working closely with government agencies and bodies like ‘Natural England’ and ‘The Environmental Agency’. Finally, they develop partnerships and projects with other organisations, trusts, charities and businesses to help further their efforts and reach an even wider range of people and locations.

This is where my connection with the Green Blue comes in. I am a member of the ‘RS Aero Class Association’, which is a partner of the Green Blue, and a key element of this partnership involves the class appointing a sustainability representative. This year I was fortunate enough to be elected for this position and now I have roles to undertake such as managing and raising awareness of substantiality and the environmental impacts we are having as a class. This includes areas such as recycling products, minimising the use of single use plastics, encouraging lift sharing and ensuring event participants undertake the ‘Check Clean Dry’ approach. This initiative is to remove harmful invasive species from boats and equipment before putting it back into the water. These are all very small changes but the impact that they have when properly undertaken can be massive on the environment and it is my responsibility to make sure my class is maintaining these standards that the Green Blue has set.

Alice Lucy, Year 13.