This sculpture was commissioned by CARE for the Cape & Islands in partnership with the Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce to promote sustainable tourism and raise awareness about plastic pollution issues. It was made possible by funding and in-kind support of many that include NOAA/Sea Grant, Open Water, Eversource, Beacon Marine, Steamship Authority and Mass Cultural Council. With a special thank you to Michael Magyar- The Glass Studio of Cape Cod and MassDOT.
CARE chose art and this sculpture to expand upon CARE’s work through a NOAA grant “Cape Cod Coalition to Aid Tourism Business Shift to Sustainable Serviceware” in partnership with WHOI Sea Grant. It was installed and unveiled in August at the Route 6 Visitor Center located at 7025 Route 6 A, Barnstable.
Conservation artist, Sarah Thornin
gton, Ebb the Tide, was chosen to create a sculpture from marine-debris and post-consumer waste based upon her passion around this topic and years spent cleaning beaches. The goal of this project is to keep awareness on our abuse of single-use plastics and the need for recycling. She chose to make the gull the subject because gulls are a common and integral part of the Cape Cod landscape. They also unfortunately spread litter from unsecured waste bins and trash that has not been disposed of properly.
Sarah asked “Could you imagine going to the beach and not seeing and hearing gulls? We are all interconnected; humans, the land that we live on, and all species for whom we share that land. We need to become better stewards of the land; protect what we love. Between over consumption and an excessive amount of single-use plastics we are destroying the environment for all creatures, including humans.”
The sculpture highlights messages through this sculpture such as:
- We as a society need to consume less – stop buying things we don’t need. • We need to recycle everything that can be recycled, but also to learn things that cannot be recycled to keep the system running smoothly.
- If a public garbage container is full, it shouldn’t be added to. That is one of the many ways of how trash and litter ends up in our oceans, and it also invites our wildlife, including gulls, to scavenge, causing more waste and debris to escape from the containers.
- Don’t feed wildlife.
- Skip single-use plastics
- It will take all of us to create change.