It’s #InternationalMermaidDay on Monday 29 March, a time to shellabrate all things mermaids.
The UK is a mecca for #mermaids with a bubbling merfolk community, vibrant, diverse and inclusive. #Professionalmermaids, children's mermaid parties, mermaid conventions and even International mermaid pageants and competitions are all here on our shores.
Mermaids have been a staple in folklore for centuries and in many cultures worldwide including the Near East, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Sirens are from Greek mythology (and originally half-birdlike). Mermaids have been a popular subject of art and literature, such as the magical Hans Christian Andersen's literary fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" (1836). They have subsequently been depicted in operas, paintings, books, comics, animation, and live action films.
But it’s not all fairy tales and combing your hair with #dinglehoppers!
Mermaid Hannah Pearl, a professional mermaid and #marineconservationist from #Bristol, says “An important part of being a mermaid is being a guardian of the ocean and bringing to light the plight of our seas and planet”.
Four mermaids from across the UK have taken time out of their busy sea-schedules to collaborate and bring humans a message of conservation and hope for the future.
The idea is around the butterfly effect of how making a #smallchange can make much bigger changes happen, especially when it comes to our life choices.
For example by switching to a reusable bottle you can save around 150 #singleuseplastic bottles from use a year for just one person.
According to Conservation Magazine, liquid soaps require about 5 times more energy than bar soaps to be produced. Plus the production of their packaging requires 20 times more energy!
There are so many ways people get involved and have a sense of community. The Big Spring Beach Clean organised by Surfers Against Sewage in 2019, saw them remove over 71.7 TONNES of packaging pollution from 757 beaches, rivers, streets and mountains across the UK!.
As Mahatma Gandhi said; “Be the change you want to see”
The mermaid video montage centres around a rewritten version of the infamous ‘Choose Life’ poem by John Hodge, used in the even more infamous Trainspotting film in 1996.
Starring; Mermaid Athena Storm, Mermaid Hannah Pearl, Mermaid Luna Tide-swell and Mermaid Twinkle, the video has been created to bring some mermaid magic and inspiration that we can all do our bit to save our seas and planet.
The re-written poem in full:
Choose life. Choose nature. Choose wildlife. Choose bamboo over plastic. Choose a bar of soap over liquid, cloth food wraps, reusable bags, cloth nappies and paper straws. Choose your friends. Choose doing your bit, litter picking, river and beach cleans, leave nothing but footprints. Choose menstrual cups over tampons. Don’t flush it down the loo. Choose appreciating nature and picking up your dog poo. Choose teaching your kids and neighbours to respect nature and the environment. Choose bees and wildflowers over pesticides. Choose impact funds over fossil fuels, know where your money goes. Choose bubbles over balloons, recycle, reuse and reduce your waste to be a better human. Choose consciousness over consumerism. Choose your future. Choose our planet. Choose life.
Hannah Pearl says. ‘We hope our collective mermaid voices can be heard by humans. It's easy to feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the problem, so let’s take it one step at a time. Think about different aspects of your life – waste, water conservation, your kitchen, etc. – and try to implement just one thing a month. It takes a while to make something into a habit, so don’t think you have to incorporate all of these at once. It’s the small changes and better consumer choices that can make a big impact”
Video editing credit: @bristoleventphotography
Follow the mermaids on instagram @mermaidhannahpearl @mermaid_twinkle @mermaid_athena_storm @thesheffieldmermaid
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