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NEWS IN BRIEF

Winners ofbig drawCOUNTY: The winners of theDorset and Somerset AirAmbulance grand summerdraw have been announced.More than 96,000 tickets

were sold. The jackpotwinner was WWattonof Bournemouth, withMrs M Howard, also ofBournemouth in second.Third prize went to Mr H

Hemmens of Highbridge.For information on joining

the weekly draw, call 01202-849530 or email lottery@dsairambulance.org.uk

Eyesdownfor bingoCOUNTY: An over 50s’ bingoevent will be held at theCatholic Church Hall inWestbury, near Sherborne.It takes place from 2pm

on Thursday and costs £3 toinclude six games of bingo.

AwardsforwildlifeCOUNTY: The awardsceremony for the WildlifeFriendly Gardening Awardstakes place on Thursday.The event is organised by

the Dorset Wildlife Trustand takes place at CastleGardens in New Road,Sherborne, from 6.30pm.Tickets are available in

store. For more detailscall 01935 814633 or visitthegardeneronline.co.uk

Swannerybird showABBOTSBURY: Frankie thebarn owl and friends will beat the Swannery from thisThursday.The birds of prey will on

display until August 31 andthere will be talks at 11amand 3pm. For more detailscall 01305 871858.

Talking atthesocietyCOUNTY: Rosie Thomas is thestar speaker at this year’sSherborne Literary Societydinner.It takes place at Leweston

School from 12.30pm onFriday. The event costs £25which includes a two-coursemeal with drinks on arrival.To book, call 07712590897.

Conservation isWEB has been splashing for asolid five minutes, desperatefor attention from one of thekeepers.She’s already had her feed

today, but with an audience solarge, she can’t help thinkingthat by showing off her fin-flapping tricks, she will convincesome of the helpful members ofthe crowd into dangling one lastfish over the water to catch.Looking on, it’s hard to believe

that any immediate threat to theseal community exists. Yet, as theplayful pup dives in and out ofthe water, spectators are shockedto find out that one of the biggesthazards to the seal populationare in fact, humans.It is for this exact reason

that Weymouth Sea Life centreholds its Annual ConservationEvening. Like many, the burdenof saving the planet seemsalmost impossible. But, foreveryone here, it is a cause worthfighting for.Fiona Smith, curator of Sea

Life Park said: “Tonight is thefourth annual evening. It’shelping to fundraise for charitieswe’ve supported such as theDorset Wildlife Trust, the RSPB,the International Otter SurvivalFund (IOSF), the Sea Life Trustand our Community SeagrassInitiative.“One of the most important

causes we care about here ispreventing plastic pollutionand it’s important to have theseprojects here to spark realengagement.”Around the park, amongst the

face-painting stalls and cakestands are ‘sensory boards’,dotted about to boost thisengagement.One board in particular

attracts attention for its fluffyfeatures – the otter.With their family of otters

being a major attraction at SeaLife, speaking with ChelseaPerrins about the IOSF, sheexplains that of the 13 speciesthat exist, 12 are declining – andmuch of that is down to plastic.“At the moment, the major

issues facing the ottercommunity in Britain is habitatloss and pollution,” she remarks.In the 1970s and 80s, there

was a genuine fear amongconservationists afterpopulations of the elusivecreatures dropped dramaticallydue to the increase in pollutionand building of new roads.And, with five species of otters

classed as ‘endangered’, it’s

plastic has become a major factorfor concern in marine biology.Sea Life Trust champion,

Daniel Jarvis, said: “Around 80per cent of plastic pollution inthe sea comes from land – SeaLife has already made greatstrides in reducing plastic acrossall its sites and will be doing evenmore as they move forward toprevent it ending up in the ocean.“One of the things the Sea Life

Trust is concentrating on nowis championing the creation of

RachelLily

NEWS dorsetecho.co.uk/news

22 @dorsetecho Tuesday July 19, 2016t/ DorsetECHO

DISCOVERING: Imogen Camp

ENTERTAINING: A seal jumps for a treat at Weym

ATTRACTION: Starburst the seal

hard to stay positive about theirspecies’ future.However, Chelsea believes it’s

not all ‘otter misery’.“In the UK we’re actually seeing

an increase of otters with moresightings across Britain andin Dorset alone, otters are nowpresent in every river catchment.“The IOSF and Sea Life are

helping to raise awareness bygiving talks and running variouscourses in identifying otter signsand survey training.“Things that the public could do

to help keep numbers increasingis be careful of what you’redoing near the water, and mostimportantly, not littering.”This seems to be the theme

of the evening, with the nexttalk being held in the TurtleSanctuary.

Above the crowd, two GreenSea Turtles stay firmly routedto the floor like carved boulders.Senior aquarist at Sea Life, SarahEverett, admits they’re lucky toeven be alive.“All seven species of sea turtle

in the world are classed aseither endangered or criticallyendangered and, whilst some ofthis is caused by natural reasons,a lot of the depletion is down tohumans.“One of the biggest threats to

turtles is marine litter. Youngerturtles will often confuse a plasticbag for a jellyfish and, wherethey’re unable to digest theplastic, it may create a blockagecausing them to either float orstarve.”From terrapins to tiny

seahorses, it is evident that