University of Surrey lecturer rows around UK collecting data on microplastics
Hannah Davis as part of a team of six broke the Guinness world record for the fastest time a mixed team has rowed unsupported around Great Britain
A new report has presented alarming findings concerning microplastic pollution around Britain's coastline.
The data, collected during a meticulous rowing challenge, reveals concentrations may be double previous estimates.
The team involved in the GB Row Challenge 2024 covered over 2,000 miles in 50 days, gathering vital information on various environmental aspects, including microplastics.
Among the six person team was Hannah Davies, an academic from the University of Surrey.
Hannah described to us what the boat looked like
"So we rode around in an ocean rowing boat, a Rossiter rowing boat, which is about 10 metres in length and it has two cabins, one at the bow end, one at the stern end. And in those cabins we could just about fit three of us
We took very minimal personal gear, so we had very minimal kind of changes of clothes. We had to wash things on the boat quite frequently because we didn't have a lot of space for our own personal items. The majority of our kit was safety equipment and then food."
She told us the trip presented a unique type of challenge.
"This was a really interesting challenge for me because not only was it this endurance side of whether or not we could manage to row ourselves around Great Britain, but also it was that scientific element that as the boat was rowing around, we were able to take these really important samples."
Hannah told us she had spend a lot of her life in and around water, and this led to her having a strong enough passion to row around the UK collecting data which she hopes will be used to demonstrate the need to change the way that we live.
"I have a great interest in care for the environment and for our planet, and I can see that we need to really change the way that we live in order to protect the planet going forwards and microplastics. I've always felt very connected to the ocean and I and I spend a lot of time on the ocean. I can really see the impact that plastic pollution has"
An added bonus of the trip was throughout the trip, Hannah and the team broke the Guinness world record for the fastest time a mixed team has rowed unsupported around Great Britain.
Hannah admitted this wasn't the main motivation, but was still a massive win
"Our main motivations were collecting the scientific data and also taking part in this endurance endurance event as part of a team and learning about how we could cope with that endurance.
The Guinness World Record was always an important one for us, but not as important as those two other points
I think when we finally turned the corner at John O'Groats to start coming down the East Coast of the country, I think we all started to believe that we could actually do it
The Guinness World Record was a total bonus on top of something that was already an incredible journey and an amazing opportunity for us to contribute to some really vital environmental data."