Sea Cadets set up sea hive at boat station to benefit lake biodiversity
Sea cadets have installed a sea hive to give a helping hand to local aquatic animals in the lake next to the Sea Cadets Thrapston Boat Station in Kettering, North Northamptonshire.
It was a beautiful and sunny day on Tuesday, 4 April, when four junior sea cadets, aged between 10 and 12, gathered at Thrapston Lake alongside the boat station manager, staff members and volunteers as well as Mr David Francis of SeaHives Ltd, who was there to provide his expert guidance in the assembling and installation of the sea hive.
Sea hives are artificial reefs designed to resemble the aquatic environment, which will provide surfaces for lake-dwelling creatures such as freshwater fish and shrimps to settle on.
“The cadets were very enthusiastic, did a great job with the assembling of the hive and asked lots of questions,” said Thrapston Boat Station Manager, Neil Hartwell.
The cadets themselves have taken ownership of this project, and not only with their hands-on approach in building and setting up the hive. The young people will be monitoring the variety and quantity of aquatic creatures that move into their newly-installed hive over the coming months.
”We drilled the different parts of the hive and put screws in so it would stay together before putting it in the lake,” describes junior sea cadet Jack (9). “It was fun to build but also quite hard. It’s important for the fish to have a place to live.”
Daisy (9) said: “It was exciting to build the hive and we learnt lots of new things. It’s important to help lake creatures and I hope loads of them will move into the new home we built for them!”
“It was very helpful to have [from Sea Hives Ltd] here so we knew what to do,” added James (9).
“All the juniors at Thrapston Unit are very excited about monitoring the sea hive and keep an eye on what creatures will move in,” said John (10).
David Francis of Sea Hives Ltd said: “The Sea Cadets Eastern Boat Station, based at the southern edge of Thrapston Lake is an ideal location to test the potential ecological benefits of SeaHives in a fresh water environment. So it was with great enthusiasm that four Junior Sea Cadets recently set about assembling a SeaHive uniquely designed for the shallow waters at the edge of Thrapston Lake. The task was successfully completed by the Cadets, with much attention to detail, team work and perseverance.”
“The cadets skilfully used various materials and tools, while learning about the origin of the Sea Hive concept, which is aligned with the broader environmental objective to reduce, reuse and recycle materials wherever possible. The SeaHive was suspended from the Boat Station pontoon later that day, at an ideal time of the year for it to be occupied by fish and invertebrates after the cold winter months. Because Thrapston Lake is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) the Cadets and the Environment Agency are looking forward to seeing how the SeaHive benefits the local environment.”
The sea hive project follows local and national forums among the cadets, called Cadet Voice, where the young people decide on the issues closest to their hearts to action. Being more environmentally responsible emerged as one of the young people’s top priorities.
The first sea hive was set up at Sea Cadets Port Edgar Station (near Edinburgh) at the end of March. If the current projects prove successful, more hives will be set up at other Sea Cadets locations across the country.
As sea cadet Remy (11) says: “Sea cadets spend many hours enjoying the water – it’s only right that we should look after our aquatic environment.”
