THE GREEN BLUE AT 20
SAVE OUR SEABED
Helping all ages to think about the health of our seabeds at the RYA Dinghy and Watersports Show in 2024.
have to be a world champion to become an ambassador for the Green Blue. ‘To show your support, you can sign the Green Blue Boating Pledge,’ explains Kate. ‘It asks you to commit to environmental best practice, such as avoiding single-use plastic and anchoring responsibly. If more people sign, it shows there’s demand for sustainable products, services and infrastructure – which helps us advocate for them, whether that’s by working with the industry or lobbying the government. You’ll make your voice heard.’ RYA Green Blue also encourages
young people to sign the pledge, as part of the University Sailing Sustainability Challenge (USSC). Launched in 2015, USSC is an annual competition promoting sustainability in UK university sailing clubs by encouraging eco-friendly sailing.
Clean and healthy water RYA Green Blue is active in the UK’s Clean Water Sports Alliance, which campaigns against poor water quality in Britain’s waterways. Kate is a sailor and rower, and witnesses water pollution first-hand. ‘Where I row, you can tell when there’s been a sewage release,’ she says. ‘You can smell it, and I know people who’ve been ill from it. So, the Green Blue encourages boaters to get involved in citizen science, by testing water quality and contributing data that can drive change at a national level.’ The programme’s work is a key
part of the RYA’s sustainability strategy, which looks at four areas: climate change, biodiversity, pollution
and the sustainable use of resources. ‘Under climate change, we’re looking at decarbonising – boats, clubhouses and events,’ says Kate. ‘For biodiversity, we promote sustainable anchoring and mooring and have been involved in the government’s Check, Clean, Dry biodiversity-focused campaign for over a decade, to stop the spread of invasive species.’ Kate is part of the Marine
Management Organisation’s Recreational Group, helping to keep the RYA’s Sustainability Team informed about the UK’s most vulnerable coastal and marine sites. With this knowledge the RYA can take a proactive role in raising awareness in the boating community about what they can do to go boating responsibly. As for resource use, RYA Green
Blue is currently focused on reducing boating kit and equipment waste. An estimated 100,000 tonnes of sportswear goes to UK landfill every year, which includes polyester-based fabrics used by boaters. ‘We’re looking at solutions, including how to reuse, repair and recycle it,’ explains Kate. Does she ever feel daunted by the
scale of the task? ‘Absolutely, but our passion far outweighs that. Boaters inherently appreciate nature, and it’s heartening that everyone is much more engaged with environmental issues now than they were when the Green Blue was founded. But there’s always more we can do together, to further that ripple effect. That’s what drives us into the future, for the next 20 years – and beyond.’
thegreenblue.org.uk rya.org.uk AUTUMN 2025 35
From 2019 to 2024, The Green Blue was a key partner in the LIFE Recreation ReMEDIES Project, led by Natural England. It aimed to protect and restore critically endangered seabed habitats across five Marine Protected Areas on England’s south coast. To do this it implemented eco-friendly advanced mooring systems (AMS), voluntary no anchor zones (VNAZ) and educated boaters about low-impact moorings at events such as the UK Seagrass Symposium (Kate was a speaker, below). ‘The Green Blue’s role was vital,’ says Jan; ‘It was our conduit between the project and marine leisure community, and it led the awareness and training of over 2,500 boaters. ‘An area that The Green Blue
leads the way on is working with electronic chart providers to have seagrass areas, AMS and VNAZ added to charts with standardised symbology and information,’ Jan explains. ‘This work will continue as part of the ReMEDIES Project legacy and, combined with Natural England’s online National Seagrass Layer, will help the boating community make more informed choices and follow best practice. Coupled with the continued promotion of the Green Blue Boating Pledge, this will help boating to become more sustainable in the long term.’
Photo: Paul Wyeth
Photo: Lewis Jefferies
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