Fish Sculpture Lands at Chichester

Nellie, a creative, functional fish sculpture, used to collect single-use plastic bottles and aluminium cans has been landed in the grounds of Chichester Cathedral, raising awareness of the impact of plastic pollution on our oceans and wildlife.

Fish Sculpture Lands at Chichester Cathedral to Raise Awareness of Plastic Pollution.

Nellie, a project by the Final Straw Foundation, has found herself washed up around the local area since 2019 inviting local people to fill her up with their single-use cans and plastic bottles. She is made from scrap metal, including old trailer parts and metal warehouse clothing cages.

Nellie aims to highlight the huge volume of single-use plastic bottles still in use every day in the UK, estimated at 7.7 billion every year.

The Cathedral’s Canon Precentor, The Reverend Dr Jack Dunn, said:

“We are delighted to be working with the District Council, and the Final Straw Foundation, once again – this time hosting Nellie on the Cathedral Green this October. Her arrival marks the start of a season of the Cathedral celebrating our beautiful and diverse environment here in East and West Sussex.”

Lissie Pollard, from the Final Straw Foundation, said:

“We really hope the fish will be a talking point at the Cathedral, encouraging people to think about how many water or soft drinks bottles they buy and dispose of each year.  It will hopefully inspire the local community to remember to always carry a reusable bottle, and to be more conscious about recycling effectively. Our primary goal is to reduce these items in the first place through the use of reusable items, so that we don’t need to recycle them at all.”

Councillor Penny Plant, Cabinet Member for Environment at Chichester District Council said:

“It’s really important that we encourage people to recycle as much as they can, and I know that these sorts of visual reminders can be extremely effective at helping change people’s behaviour, by making people realise just how much waste is created.”

Nellie can be found in the cathedral grounds throughout October and her journey can be followed through the Final Straw Foundation’s social media pages and website: www.finalstrawfoundation.org