Vitamin Sea Project 2026 Roundup

Now that the clocks have gone back, it certainly feels like autumn has properly arrived and winter isn’t far behind. Although we’ll still be running some land-based Vitamin Sea sessions over the winter, we wanted to take a moment to look back on this summer and highlight all the activities that our volunteers have supported as part of the Vitamin Sea Project in 2026!

So far this year, we’ve helped just over 100 people create stronger ocean connections and begin their own journey towards Ocean Citizen ship. 

Our beneficiaries have ranged from school children and young carers to women seeking connection and members of the Ukrainian and Afghan refugee communities. Each has taken something different from their experiences.

We’ve run a range of paddleboarding, snorkelling and land snorkelling experiences in various locations in the past few months. 

Highlights in 2026 have included:

 

The Ullapool Women’s SUP Club trip to Isle Martin

A gorgeous day, where seven women who only learnt to paddleboard this year took part in a full-day expedition to the gorgeous Isle Martin. Not only did they get to spend some peaceful time on the water, but they also took part in a special art session led by Dianne Tanner from Patagonia UK.

It was a wonderful way to mark the first summer for the Ullapool Women’s SUP Club and we hope the first of many adventures together. 

 

Chelmarsh Reservoir School Sessions

The Chelmarsh Reservoir Vitamin Sea Project sessions, run for children aged 11 to 12 from a local school, are always a highlight of the summer.

This year, Craig and his incredible team of volunteers introduced 66 children to their local waterways over the course of three days. As well as paddleboarding sessions, the children also enjoyed mindful moments on their boards, had a go at land snorkelling and learnt about the water cycle – and how even inland environments are deeply connected to our ocean. 

 

Lundy Young Carers trip with Lundy Diving

Another highlight of the Vitamin Sea Project calendar is the snorkelling trip to Lundy Island that we run for young carers in Devon, with the support of Lundy Diving and an amazing group of volunteers.

This year, the seals were playful, the snacks onboard were plentiful and the sun was beaming down. Some of the young people left having made new friends, as well as having created incredible memories after spending time in the sea with the seals. 

The trip also allowed us to connect two young people to an opportunity to learn to scuba dive and further their interest in marine conservation. 

 

SUP sessions for South Devon’s young carers

A new project for this year, led by Marc, to help young carers in South Devon enjoy some mindful time on the water and learn about how waterways like Exeter’s historic shipping canal connect to the sea.

As with any activities that involve spending time in nature, sometimes the weather and conditions work against us. 

That’s exactly what happened when it came to our annual COAST trip to Lamlash Bay in Scotland in early September. A combination of poor weather and ferry disruption meant we were unable to run this trip as intended this year.

We’re very grateful to Responsible Travel, who provided funding for this trip, for their understanding and continued support. We’re also very happy to share that we will be running an extra COAST trip in 2027 to ensure the young people can still benefit from this amazing experience.

We are also excited to look ahead to our programme of Vitamin Sea Projects for 2027, with some new locations and activities in the pipeline.

Among those we are actively working on are kayaking sessions for young carers in North Wales and Calm on the Water in Shropshire, which will be mindful SUP sessions for women who have experienced domestic abuse. 

We’ll share more about all the locations and activities we’ll be running Vitamin Sea Projects in over the coming months!

We’d also like to say a big thank you to all of our volunteers and funders. It’s no exaggeration to say that without your continued support, these sessions wouldn’t be possible. We can’t wait to keep creating ocean connections and developing new ocean citizens with you in 2027!