Seaful Volunteers

Last weekend was a very special one for Seaful. It was the first time we brought our volunteers from all over the UK together in person. 

We met up at the gorgeous Greencliff Farm in Devon for a full weekend of activities, workshops and fun. First up, we have to thank Sam and Sue from Greencliff for kindly hosting us at their holiday cottages and giving us access to their other facilities. 

The farm was the perfect place for our first Seaful volunteer meetup, with amazing views across to Lundy Island and an opportunity to learn about their rewilding efforts on the coast. Plus, we were only a short walk from Greencliff beach, which was perfect for an activity that’s new to the Seaful lineup for 2026 (more on that shortly). 

Our volunteers travelled from all over the UK to join us. Linn made an epic journey from Scotland to Devon by train. Three of the team who run our Vitamin Sea project at Chelmarsh Reservoir in Shropshire travelled to us. 

Others came from more central parts of England, including Cambridgeshire and Windsor, and there were a few from other parts of the south west, including Exeter and Bournemouth. 

It was wonderful to see everyone sharing ideas, talking about their projects and experiences volunteering for Seaful, and bonding over a common love of our oceans, our environment and helping to create those ocean connections for others. 

There was much hilarity playing Craig’s “Duck Game”, which teaches children in Shropshire about the water cycle and how our actions inland affect the oceans.

Everyone loved hearing from Evgenia and Iryna, who started as beneficiaries in Seaful sessions for the Ukrainian community in Devon and who now volunteer and help guide Vitamin Sea sessions. 

We’ve come away with plenty of ideas of how we can develop our sessions and the Vitamin Sea project to reach more people and have even more benefits, so watch this space!

We also introduced our new land-based activity to the whole volunteer team this weekend: land snorkeling. Despite its name, this activity doesn’t involve getting wet. In fact, you don’t even need to be by the sea to participate. 

It’s a form of mindful walking, or even simply mindful time spent in nature. During our weekend, we took a slow meander down to the beach and then had a lot of fun exploring the rockpools that were exposed by the low tide. We also learnt some incredible facts about the creatures we found (thanks go to Kat for sharing how beadlet anemones fight!).

We’ll be sharing more about land snorkeling in the coming weeks and months, so keep an eye on our socials and our website to learn more about how you can get involved. 

The weekend also gave us an opportunity to hear about Cal’s ocean advocacy work and how we can bring that into all of our sessions. We were treated to a private screening of A Line In The Sound, a new film that Cal has produced for Seaful’s Vitamin Sea TV in conjunction with the Our Seas Coalition in Scotland.

The discussions after the film screening were fascinating and we’re excited to use this resource in our Vitamin Sea sessions to help introduce more people to the plight of our oceans and show how better protection and management can help these vital coastal environments recover and thrive.

Perhaps more importantly, it also gave us hope that our coastlines can recover and Cal explained how all of us can get involved to call for the protections our seas desperately need. 

As a team, we’re excited to start our Vitamin Sea sessions in 2026 and can’t wait to share how they go with you throughout the coming months. 

This weekend would not have been possible without the kind support of many organisations and individuals, including:

Sam and Sue from Greencliff Farm for venue and accommodation support.

Sue for delivering a calming sound bath session for us. 

Sam for taking us on a rewilding farm tour.

Sea-Changers for providing funding that made this event possible.

Bar Buoy for their drinks sponsorship.

The Pig & Olive for generously discounting our pizza order.

Dryrobe for providing towel robes as gifts for our volunteers.

Klean Kanteen for providing flasks as gifts for our volunteers.

EX39 in Westward Ho! for producing Seaful printed bags and discounted T-shirts for the team.