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A Dragon Boat 2006 Team's Story
Earthwatch entered a Dragon Boat team for the first time in 2006. Tim Hall from Earthwatch describes how they put their team together and what they got out of it ...
It was fairly easy to find a willing team, although only one of the team had ever rowed competitively before and luckily, he was Nat Spring, who had rowed the Atlantic the year before, so he agreed to be Captain and “train” the crew. This appeared to consist of a visit to the River Usk, with 8 of the team members, who hired kayaks for a couple of hours paddling and then retreated to the pub to dress their blisters and slake their thirst. Anyway they returned on the following Monday, hugely motivated and set about the necessary fundraising activities to raise their entrance contribution of £100 each.
We then agreed that to fulfil our conservation remit, that we would enter Team Earthwatch as Noah’s Ark (or Nigel’s Ark) and that each pair of rowers, should be a species of endangered animals. Nigel and our Press Officer Emily agreed to be Mr and Mrs Noah and took turns to beat the drum and keep the “animals” in order.
The excitement levels grew daily, as the rowers began to assume their alter egos and strange costumes started to appear at the office. By this time we also had decided that this most ”environmentally friendly” form of transport would indicate our commitment to offsetting our carbon footprint, created by business travel. We therefore agreed that after paying our contribution to Abingdon Rotary Vespers, the balance would go to an Earthwatch project, planting mangroves on the Kenyan Coast to mitigate the effects of surge tides, caused by climate change, on indigenous coastal inhabitants.
Sunday 14 May 2007 saw a colourful and excited team waiting for their chance to take part. I had agreed to man the Earthwatch marquee and cater for the teams hunger and thirst, which grew alarmingly with each successive heat, so I did not have the opportunity to row. Amazingly, for a first time entry, Nigel’s Ark won all its heats and finished third overall in the finals…and won the fancy dress competition. The prizes were presented by Mayor of Abingdon, Peter Green, himself an Earthwatch alumni and supporter.
How did this activity fulfil our mission? Well firstly it proved that the greenest forms of transport can be very efficient if well organised, Secondly it showed that well motivated teamwork raises the spirits and gets the job done swiftly and efficiently. Thirdly it raised public awareness of endangered species.
Nigel was incredibly proud of his new team’s efforts and our Dragon Trophy sits just as proudly in our reception area. Nigel immediately announced that this should become an annual Earthwatch commitment. So, yes Nigel’s Ark is entered again this year. Some act to follow, but you can be sure that we’ll be trying our best on May 13th and pulling together as a team once again..
© Tim Hall, Earthwatch
Environmental Engagement Officer
Earthwatch Institute/Europe
267 Banbury Road
Oxford
OX2 7HT
UK
Email:
Web: http://www.earthwatch.org/Europe