Friends of Horsey Seals

In 2019, we funded Friends of Horsey Seals, a small charity based in Horsey on the Norfolk coast. Their mission is to protect the Grey Seals that live and breed locally. Grey seals are common in the area but are rare globally and Britain is home to around 50% of the world population.

The aim of the project was to make the public aware of a problem caused by plastic flying rings – the sort kids and dogs play with on the beach. When these float off into the sea … well, seals are naturally inquisitive animals and when they encounter new objects they like to play with them too. Unfortunately, a young seal can get entangled in a flying ring causing serious, potentially fatal, injuries as the seal grows.

Sea-Changers’ grant was used to design and print posters and leaflets displaying the campaign message and volunteers distributed them all along the Norfolk coastline from Great Yarmouth to Kings Lynn. An important part of the distribution was the face-to-face contact with people to explain the campaign and gauge whether it had increased people’s level of awareness of the issue. Clear suggestions of how people can help were highlighted. Ambassadors for the campaign were recruited from schools and the local business community to promote the campaign over the summer and some incorporated the campaign message into their regular activities, talks and displays.