Keep Our Sea Chemical Free
- Ongoing Project -
In March 2023 the St Ives Community got wind of a chemical experiment taking place in St Ives Bay. The initial proposed experiment was to take place in the coming June where the Canadian Company (Planetary Technologies) planned to pump thousands of tons of Magnesium Hydroxide into St Ives Bay as a test for a possible Carbon drawdown scheme. Local activists from the community quickly came together to form the group ‘Keep Our Sea Chemical Free’ (Instagram) in protest against the scheme.
Our group’s initial goal was to gather more information on the experiment, and come to an understanding on the safety of it for marine life and the coastline. However, the more we learned the quicker we realised that this experiment should never go ahead. So, we decided to organise a protest to share our thoughts on the scheme, and share the limited information we have to others.
On April the 16th over 300 people gathered in protest at Gwithian, and over 50 surfers paddled out, to show their strength, unity and anger against the situation.
The protest was incredibly special, showing the power our community has when it comes together. Personally, it has to be one of the most memorable days of my life.
Frames from the film:
I wanted this film to show just a little part of that power. And I hope I’ve managed to do that, as a reminder for everyone there, but also for the people who couldn’t make it.
At the moment the experiment has been postponed and the Canadian Company is awaiting the Environmental Agency’s approval for their new plan until they can go ahead. However, it should never go ahead, so our work is not over. But, it is also worth remembering if there hadn’t been massive public outcry the experiment would have been in full flow by now.
The song made by Global Jamming is not only relevant for our protest against Planetary but also the ongoing battle against SW Water. Gavin’s (the composer) description of the song sums up the protest perfectly:
‘I wrote the song as a rallying call against big businesses still hustling to drive our global environmental systems to the brink of collapse. Seeing how our water companies operate, not least in St. Ives Bay, brings home how much ecological havoc these value-proof corporations are prepared to wreak for the sake of greasing their shareholders’ palms. Every discharge of raw sewage impacts upon our marine ecosystem, it’s only people power that can stop this.’
It’s been a pleasure working with a talented group of local creatives on the film and a privilege working with the community on the protest. It is another prime example of how our community can come together in action.
Film Credits:
Created/Edited by Oli Riley
Song:
‘All Hands On Deck’ - https://globaljamming.org
Composer, Guitar & Vocals - Gavin Nicol
Vocals - Sylvie Nicol
Cello & Vocals - Kari Prince
Engineering - Alan Burton & Treve Nicol
Cinematography:
Water - Greg Dennis
Osker Carmichael
Drone - Alban Roinard
Land - Finn Crouch