Young people and wildlife groups draw huge images on the beach at Scarborough to highlight fears over loss of nature

No sooner was it created, than it was washed away. An image on the sand at Scarborough highlighted the fears of young people about the loss of wildlife from around the region and the UK.
By Emma Ryan
Published 24th Mar 2022, 06:00 BST

UK Youth for Nature joined forces with Sand In Your Eye, RSPB and others to create a giant picture in the sand on Scarborough’s South Bay showing the UK and featuring an oak leaf, a curlew, a salmon, and a beaver.

The drawing was etched yesterday morning ahead of Earth Hour on Saturday and coincided with United Nations nature negotiations taking place in Geneva.

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It was washed away later that day by the tide, symbolising young people’s alarm about the disappearance of wildlife in the UK.

A huge sand drawing on Scarborough beach has been created to highlight young people's alarm at the loss of wildlife in the UK. UK Youth for Nature joined forces with Sand In Your Eye, RSPB and others, to create a giant image in the sand depicting an oak leaf, a curlew, a salmon, and a beaver in the shape of the UK.A huge sand drawing on Scarborough beach has been created to highlight young people's alarm at the loss of wildlife in the UK. UK Youth for Nature joined forces with Sand In Your Eye, RSPB and others, to create a giant image in the sand depicting an oak leaf, a curlew, a salmon, and a beaver in the shape of the UK.
A huge sand drawing on Scarborough beach has been created to highlight young people's alarm at the loss of wildlife in the UK. UK Youth for Nature joined forces with Sand In Your Eye, RSPB and others, to create a giant image in the sand depicting an oak leaf, a curlew, a salmon, and a beaver in the shape of the UK.

Yorkshire is one of the most important places in the UK for curlews and added to the reasons for Scarborough being chosen for the project.

Jane Williamson, co-lead, Nature Loss: Lines In The Sand said: “We wanted to come to Scarborough for a couple of reasons. We have been working with a company based in the north called Sand In Your Eye so wanted to support them and wanted to be out of London and somewhere in the centre of the UK to repeat our message.

“Scarborough has been stunning. As we walked to the beach, the sea was sparkling, the sky was blue. We loved it here, it is a beautiful town.”

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Young people and members of wildlife groups raked images into the sand in Scarborough to highlight wildlife issues in the UK.Young people and members of wildlife groups raked images into the sand in Scarborough to highlight wildlife issues in the UK.
Young people and members of wildlife groups raked images into the sand in Scarborough to highlight wildlife issues in the UK.
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According to the 2019 State of Nature report by environmental organisations, 41 per cent of the UK’s species are declining and 13 per cent of them are at risk of national extinction.

They also say that the four governments of the UK countries need to do far more at a local, regional and national level to halt the loss of wildlife and pollution of habitats, to restore lost animals and plants, and to ensure that farms and the countryside are a better home for wildlife as the climate changes.

The group is calling on governments across all four nations to set a target of 2025 to halt all nature loss in the UK,

and to put it into recovery by 2030.

UK Youth for Nature will also be working with local wildlife and conservation organisations, to develop regional policy asks relevant to Yorkshire and North East England, with the drawing as a springboard.

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Talia Goldman, co-director of UK Youth for Nature, added: “When today’s young people are older, some of the most iconic species of the British countryside could already have been lost forever. The UN biodiversity conference is a once in a decade chance to set new global nature goals.”

Related topics:ScarboroughYorkshireSouth BayRSPB