Seahorse sculpture stops customers in their tracks at Plymouth station

Clean Our Patch CIC is using a £15,000 grant from Great Western Railway’s Customer and Community Improvement Fund to continue its fight to clean up and educate communities across Plymouth and the South Hams.

The sculpture, The Ballad of Lost Mary, featured some of the 4,000 vapes collected by volunteers throughout 2023. It has been on display across the city since June, but its station showcase was its last before being disassembled and the vapes recycled.

Group founders, Ash Samuels and El Clarke, said:

“The sculpture was symbolic of not only the blight of these vapes but also the blight of single use items within society. The hand rising up from the pile of vapes represents the constant struggle to rise above consumerism and protect nature and in turn the planet. If we all work together change is possible and we can make significant change to the world around us.”    

The Ballad of Lost Mary sculptor, Andrew Stevens-Lock, added:

“For me the seahorse represented the ultimate survivor in its natural environment. It’s sad for me that its biggest threat comes from us, because of our complete disregard for any life other than our own.

“While I portrayed the image of a seahorse being held aloft, out of harm’s way, our toxic, environmental impacts are unstoppable. The sculpture represented a token gesture of our concerns for our actions. We have to try harder to make a positive impact.”

GWR latest’s Customer and Community Improvement Fund was launched in February to support local communities and address areas of social need.

As part of GWR’s National Rail Contract with the Department for Transport, the train operator is committed to supporting schools, colleges, councils, community and other not-for-profit organisations by aiding a number of initiatives.

GWR West Regional Development Manager, David Whiteway, said:

“The Customer and Community Improvement Fund is a fantastic opportunity for us to invest in our communities in projects that make a difference at a local level.

“We have supported Clean Our Patch CIC on previous occasions and seen first-hand the brilliant work they do to educate and help to clean up our local communities.”

Clean Our Patch CIC was formed in March 2018 and has since collected more than 93,000 bags of litter from across the city.

It plans to use the bulk of its £15,000 grant to form independent litter-picking hubs capable of looking after their own neighbourhoods, as well as launching an art project linked to trains.