Youth In Focus: Dolphin Rescuer
Elizabeth training with the dolphin stretcher she has funded through selling homemade cards.
Image: Chris Cureton
Youth in Focus: Proudly highlighting the work of one of our very own Young Reporters - Elizabeth Gadsdon.
You may have read our previous article about Elizabeth when we were lucky enough to have her as a guest presenter at The Zillo Youth Awards last month. If so you may remember that Elizabeth makes greetings cards decorated with microplastics that she finds on her regular beach cleans.
As reported by Rebecca McGrath in the Wirral Globe we are proud to share the news that Elizabeth raised the £200 needed to buy a specialist ‘dolphin stretcher’ for the North West British Divers Marine Rescue (BDMLR). The BDMLR do regular rescues of dolphins and porpoises - see BDMLR Website for further information on the incredible work they do.
Elizabeth Gadsdon, 12, who runs the Facebook page The Little Collector – Elizabeth: Caring for Wirral and the World, was thrilled to donate the stretcher and was able to attend the training course for the rescuers who will be using it.
In the Globe article (link below) Chris Cureton who is the North West co-ordinator for the BDMLR explains how grateful they are to Elizabeth for the donation “when she approached us asking if she could raise some money for the British Divers we thought rather than the funds being absorbed into the national pot that we would ask for a dolphin stretcher to make rescues quicker and safer for both the teams and the dolphin. The stretcher is custom built with special handles which helps speed up our response. The team is absolutely made up with it and have already said how much better it is.”
As a thank-you to Elizabeth she was presented with a certificate of thanks from BDMLR staff at Fort Perch Rock in New Brighton.
Image: Chris Cureton
Big thanks from your peers at the Young Reporters and everyone at team Zillo for helping to keep our local sea wildlife safer. Keep up the good work Elizabeth.