Charity Spotlight: Sussex Dolphin Project

Posted by Evergreen Insurance on 21st April 2021 -

Here at Evergreen, we work with a number of charities. When you buy an insurance product through us, we are paid a commission for arranging the insurance. Instead of taking all that commission for ourselves, we give a percentage of it to one of our charity partners. One of those charity partners is Sussex Dolphin Project .

We sat down with our friends at Sussex Dolphin Project to find out more about what they do and how we can help…..

Please tell us briefly about your charity and the work that you do?

Sussex Dolphin Project is a project of the World Cetacean Alliance, a global partnership of marine experts dedicated to the research and conservation of cetaceans.

Launched in 2018, Sussex Dolphin Project aims to inspire the local community to reconnect with the coast and protect our seas by building awareness, delivering education initiatives and driving research projects.

Sussex Dolphin Project keeps a database of marine mammal sightings driven by a citizen science project. Any sightings of marine mammals from across Sussex should be submitted via the project’s phone line, email, website or social media profiles.

The project also helps to support sustainable practices that focus on the regeneration and protection of ecosystems while preserving livelihoods. These include rejuvenating coastal habitats and working with the local fishing community.

 

Evergreen partnered with yourselves about a year ago. How do donations help you?

Evergreen’s donations have been hugely helpful to allow us to develop our research projects, build community engagement opportunities and drive our education programme with local schools and community groups.

 

What impact does working with Evergreen have on your charity?

Evergreen has been central to the development of our charity project over the last year. We are staffed by volunteers and rely on the support of our corporate partners, funding grants, as well as the wider community, to operate on a day-to-day basis.

 

When are your wildlife trips and what can people expect to see?

We are about to announce dates for our 2021 sunset wildlife cruises, which will run twice a month from May through to September.

The boat trips depart from Brighton Marina and provide unique view of Brighton’s seafront as the sun sets behind the West Pier and i360!

Although dolphin sightings this close to shore are rare, you will learn all about our Sussex dolphins, porpoises, seals and the other amazing wildlife living off our beaches, including Seahorses, Sharks, Lobsters, and Fish.

There will be time to view seabirds and listen to underwater sounds, before heading back to the marina.

Please check our website for details: https://www.sussexdolphinproject.org/boat-trips

 

How else can people support you?

You can support us in three main ways:

Firstly, reporting any sightings of marine mammals across the Sussex coastline. We are lucky to have Bottlenose Dolphins, Common Dolphins, White-beaked Dolphins, Harbour Porpoises and Harbour (Common) and Grey Seals in our waters. If you spot any of these amazing mammals, from shore or when out on the water, please contact us with the time and location of your sighting, how many individuals you saw and of course any supporting photographic or video evidence. We will add your sighting to our citizen science project, which is a crucial source of data on marine mammals in the Eastern English Channel.

Secondly, you can help our operations by volunteering in a variety of roles, from day-to-day running of the project, to our boat trips, beach cleans, education programmes, community outreach and our new community restoration and rewilding project at Shoreham Port.

Finally, you can donate to us directly, follow us on social media, where we upload the latest sightings videos and photography, attend our events or buy Sussex Dolphin Project merchandise, the proceeds of which go back to support our operations.

 

Evergreen can help with a broad range of insurance needs, from business to personal – every policy arranged through us secures a donation. Click here to request your quote and help support Sussex Dolphin Project.