WhatSUP with SUPtember?

‘SUP’ in this instance stands for ‘single-use plastics’ (they are bad SUPs, stand-up paddle boards are good SUPs!)

SUPtember is a month of activities aimed at reducing the amount of plastic in our environment. A range of environmental organisations run activities for SUPtember.

Poster listing five things to do in SUPtember

What can you do this SUPtember?

Club clean up challenge: Which club/peer group can get the most number of people participating over the month? Even with lockdown, everyone can still collect rubbish on their own or in pairs. We will also have a photo/video prize, and a prize for the most creative SUPtember action! Eg. The Mullets (part of River Canoe Club) are thinking of spelling out “pollution” with all the golf balls they have retrieved from the Cooks River!

Our upcycled ‘pick up while you paddle’ and ‘paddle against plastic’ t-shirts and cotton bags are ready! Thanks to Boomerang Alliance and Ocean Crusaders for their support with this. Email bron@paddlensw.org.au to get a shirt or bag pack sent (we be selling these from the PaddleNSW website when we get a chance to set this up!). The bags come in a pack with cards to thank a café for using non-plastic, compostable coffee cups or to ask those who aren’t using them, to use them! Made by Boomerang Alliance, you can check out the cards here: https://www.boomerangalliance.org.au/shop

Stay educated: we have put together a list of top enviro docos and websites of relevance to paddlers. Good lockdown viewing! Check it out here: nsw.paddle.org.au/environment/suptember-2021

Get crafty – make alternatives to single-use plastics (good home-schooling activities for those in lockdown with kids!):

– Beeswax wraps (use instead of cling wrap) https://youtu.be/_FhFnwNkXE8

– Shopping bags from old t-shirts – no sewing required! https://youtu.be/zgpaM3u2zng

– Help ban single-use plastics – sign a petition:

Australian Marine Conservation Society is calling for a nation-wide ban on a range of SUPs: https://www.marineconservation.org.au/actions/ban-single-use-plastics/

And lets get rid of those millions of tiny sushi soy sauce fish! https://www.change.org/p/sign-this-petition-to-ban-plastic-soy-fish

And helium balloons, which eventually pop and often end up in oceans… https://www.boomerangalliance.org.au/balloon_release_petition

Use cloth face masks, not disposables!

And remember, please use the Litter Stopper app to record the litter you or your club collects – this helps us with funding applications, partnerships etc. Anyone can make entries, not just the nominated person who organizes clean ups.

The app is very easy to use, after you download it, these are the steps:

Click on Start Clean

Click on Registered Organisation

Click on Paddle NSW and again on the next page

So now you follow the instructions – In ‘Enter your location’ enter your Club’s name. There is a chance to pin the exact spot where you did the clean-up later, and also to submit a photo.

If you have any problems, let us know and we can contact the admin from Litter Stopper.

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