A COLLAGE of crabs is on display in West Mersea to prompt the public to say no to plastic.
Olympian Saskia Clark unveiled the installation at the waterfront, featuring 24 crabs made by pupils and volunteers of West Mersea School and artist Vinny Stapley, funded by Mersea Island Tales Educational Trust.
The crabs were produced using plastic found on the beaches and shorelines of Mersea.
Once the masterpiece was uncovered, Mersea athlete Saskia led a fierce crabbing competition.
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Veronique Eckstein, from the trust, said: “They had an absolute ball. Although one of the younger girls caught the biggest crab, Saskia, by far, caught the most.
“When she was training for the Olympics, Saskia would talk about the dangers of the water she was training in quite a lot and the state of the seas so she’s an excellent advocate for what we’re trying to achieve.
“She hails from these waters, as a young girl, for many years.”
Crabbers will also be encouraged to learn safe crabbing etiquette via a specially-commissioned poster by illustrator Tom Knight, while being urged to keep Mersea litter free.
Thomas Knightingale, 9, replicating the crabs
She said: “Because the children are passionate about crabbing, it seemed a good way to fuse an art environment project with something they loved.”
You can view the piece this summer at Dabchicks Sailing Club Dinghy Park before it moves to the Sea Garden at Mersea Island School.
Sammy the Seal is already there as part of a project last worked, also supported by artist Vinny.
Vinny Stapley (centre) with volunteers Ray Smith and Joan Lamb
She said: "Already the kids talk about going with their parents and doing litter picks on the beach, and this year there's less and less on the beach so it means the project worked.
"It's been a privilege to work with the primary school children and I'm very grateful to the trust for supporting marine education projects like this.
"I'm very passionate about giving opportunities for young children to work on highly creative 3D projects within school, and hope this will prove it's valuable for all children to have the opportunity to do this."
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