Craft sea creatures and help marine conservation

We’re inviting Somerset crafters to put their sewing skills to the test and help raise money for charity this year (2017).

Our Pet and Craft Centres have created a sewing kit that you can purchase with proceeds being donated to the Marine Conservation Society (MCS).

The Centres have chosen to support MCS due to its fantastic work helping marine life in our oceans and helping tidy up plastics that are washing up on our beaches across the UK. The first sewing kit will be of an Orca and kits featuring different sea creatures will be release through the year.

The kit contains everything you will need to make a whale and each kit comes with helpful instructions. The kits will cost £3.99 and £2 from each sale will go to the charity.

People of all ages can give these a go. We’d love it if you tweeted us pictures of your finished whales to @MonktonElm or posted them on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/monktonelm.

The Pet and Craft Centres will also be organising some beach cleaning events throughout the year.

MCS is the UK’s leading charity for the protection of the country’s seas, shores and wildlife. Levels of beach litter have doubled during the last two decades and the MCS works to clear the seas of the rising tide of rubbish that is dangerous to sea life, including sea birds, whales and dolphins.

An awareness about the state of the UK’s seas grew in the early 1970s and the Underwater Conservation Year was devised in 1977. This gave momentum to form the Underwater Conservation Society with the MCS name being officially adopted and registered in 1983.

More than 6,000 supporters fund the charity’s work through membership, donations, and turtle adoption schemes and more than 10,000 MCS volunteers clean up the UK’s beaches each year, and help tackle marine litter at source.

Ian Frazer, Head of Fundraising at MCS, said: “We’re delighted that the Pet and Craft centres at Monkton Elm are raising funds on our behalf in such an innovative way, not only that, they’re organising beach cleans this summer too. At MCS we rely solely on the support of organisations and individuals to raise funds and volunteer their time, so we wish the Pet and Craft Centres the very best of luck and hope they have fun at their beach cleans.”