Whirld Ocean Day 2021
Happy World Ocean day one and all! This global event this year focuses on the 30x30 campaign - the growing movement to protect at least 30% of the world's land and ocean by 2030.
My own activity in celebration of World Oceans Day this year, blogged about over the last week, has been to compose a new piece of music, Whirl, for percussionist Delia Stevens, on the player below.
The music is inspired by the plastic pollution in Greater Manchester's River Tame, or, rather, by the whirlpools found at various points along the river's banks, trapping the floating plastic.
The tension between the constantly rotating whirls of water and the stasis of the suspended plastic caught my attention, emerging in the music as opposing musical ideas which are interwoven and transformed.
My participation in the Million Mile Beach Clean, organised by Surfers Against Sewage, which aims to clean up our beaches and waterways also lies behind the piece, as does the latest research into microplastics in the Tame, as revealed by Professor Jamie Woodward and team's research, blogged about earlier.
Over the next few months, as part of the Million Mile Beach Clean, I'll be walking 10 miles of rivers, canals and beaches, picking up litter and logging what I find. Not at all sure what to expect…
There's more information about the Million Mile Beach Clean on this link, and about World Ocean Day on this link.
You can find out more about the petition for the 30x30 campaign here, and you can follow Delia's fascinating projects on her website here.
Finally, a huge thank you to Delia for joining me this year so wholeheartedly and for playing the music so virtuosically. Thank you!