29th of July – 12 hr training swim across Swanage Bay
600 plastic bottles – 60-65kg – From the Jurassic Coastline and Isle Of Wight
Project Planet Earth has teamed up with Glenn Martin sculptures for this event on the 29th of July. The pair came up with the idea of bringing increased excitement to a planned 12 hr training swim across Swanage Bay, part of Oly’s intense training schedule for his world record attempt, 24hr + swim around the stunning island of Ithaca in Greece. Aiming to raise awareness about the devastating impacts of plastic pollution, as well as funds for Project Planet Earth and Healthy Seas, who carry out vital clean-ups in Ithaca and beyond.
Oly met Glenn after his record-breaking 2021 solo swim around the island. ‘I was kindly invited to an environmental festival after the swim and Glenn was there with some of his sculptures made from ocean recovered plastics, we got chatting and had an awful lot in common. I ended up buying a shark sculpture which now comes with me to all my school visits, much to the delight of the children!’
On the day itself, Oly and other swimmers that have been invited will be towing ‘Percy’ across Swanage Bay, between 7am and 7pm. Please come along, show your support and why not get involved and do your own beach clean. Although we are not specifically fundraising for this event, we encourage you, if you are able, to donate to Oly Ithaca swim this coming September, which will see Oly take on another mammoth solo island swim, initial estimates lean suggest it will take between 24/30 hrs. More info can be found on the website at projectplanet.earth
I am an eco sculptor based on the isle of Wight. I use a wide range of materials in many different ways. My inspiration is always natural form. A lot of materials I use come from our local beaches. Seeing how the natural world is affected by humanity can be quite disheartening but it motivates me to help others through creativity.