We’re slightly obsessed with the work Matt has been doing with setting up One Blue Eye, a quirky shop in Helston that collects plastic waste and transforms it into useable items from jewellery to homeware to artwork… and now medals!
As soon as we saw them, we knew they had to be the medal of choice for Children’s Sailing Trust, and it just so happened we had our annual sailing regattas coming up!
Thankfully, we had a funding pot specifically for medals and suchlike, enabling the charity to reward the children who work so hard all term, not just in terms of academic achievements with RYA certification, but on the lifeskills that are inherently learned through sailing and being on the water.
So many of the children we work with refuse to go near the water at all, have zero self confidence when it comes to learning new things, or even experience social anxieties being involved in group activities. All of them overcome personal hurdles over the course of our sailing programme and so we believe their efforts should be recognised and celebrated.
That’s the purpose of our annual regattas.
The children get the chance to show off their new skills in a competitive environment, competing against all the other local schools and showing off in front of parents and invited guests on the Helford River (River Regatta) or Trevassack Lake (SEND Interschools Inclusive Games)
The children did so well! And were excited to receive their special medals – gold for the winning school and CST teal for everyone else. But what’s so special about these medals?
The plastic waste used to create them through Matt’s recycling process was collected from around the Helford and other nearby locations by Clean Ocean Sailing. They are Surfer’s Against Sewage Allies in keeping the Helford Plastic Free, while cruising the Cornish coastline cleaning up the shores and seas, leading them to being dubbed the ‘Plastic-Hunting Pirates’. They’re heroes of the high seas as far as we’re concerned – it’s important to us that we pass on a sense of responsibility to the children we teach, to look after and love where we live, so the story behind where these medals came from is powerful.
We’re so pleased to have partnered with One Blue Eye to create unique regatta medals made from 100% recycled ocean plastic. Having the plastic collected by Clean Ocean Sailing, a local volunteer group dedicated to cleaning up marine waste around the Cornish coast, means each medal represents not just an achievement in sailing, but a symbol of environmental responsibility and community collaboration.
This story is important because it highlights how local organisations can come together to inspire the next generation – encouraging young sailors to care for the waters they enjoy. By turning harmful waste into something meaningful, the initiative promotes sustainability, creativity, and the power of collective action for a cleaner, brighter future.
We encourage you to visit their websites and support them in their mission to clean up Cornwall!
