Rachel Colenso

On 24 October at 3.50pm about 50 people dived into the icy Atlantic at the last outpost of human habitation in the most South Westerly corner of Africa, Scarborough, near Cape Point. They spent 350 seconds (six minutes) bobbing about in the 8deg c water in support of the 350 Campaign. The ages ranged from 2 years old to around 80, some in wetsuits and some braving themselves against the elements. Two whales swam close to the shore during the event.

Today Rosemary and I stopped and gaped in awe as about 20 whales swam close to the beaches of Scarborough, and Witsands , heading north. Large fins and curved tails danced between the waves and plumes of sea water gushed into the air. It literally made me stop, for a long time. As Rosemary squealed in delight at each new sighting I thought of how fortunate we are to live so close to nature. Not everyone does, and so making a special day to think about how we can preserve our planet for future generations is very important. Tomorrow, Saturday 24 th October, is the international day for climate change. To raise awareness of the necessity of preserving our natural world is the international 350 campaign. 350 parts per million CO2 in the atmosphere is the safe limit for humanity. We are currently over 390 and need to return to 350 in order to sustain life on our planet. All of us need to take action to maintain a healthy environment for not just our sake, but that of our children. Aroun