On 27th and 28th October, in Brighton, Whalefest 2012 saw the congregation of exhibitors from a wide range of sectors in both the cetacean and other marine related fields. The diverse combination of charities, campaigners, ecotourism organisations and of course budding marine conservationists made for a rather exciting weekend for the visitors, fellow exhibitors and, of course, us! The interactive features for children found throughout the festival made ‘Cetacean Cove’ an ideal addition to the collection of original and thought provoking experiences. Organisers provided amazing life-sized blow up models of marine animals (including leatherback turtles, orcas and the blue whale), indoor whale watching and a tour inside the body of a sperm whale.

Upon arriving at the venue on Friday morning we were taken to stand DG05, the place that was to become the home of Global Ocean for the next 2 days. In order to construct the underwater world and prevent any light from entering, the basic shell-like structure of DG05 was completely shrouded with an enormous sheet of tarpaulin lined with reused or recycled black bin bags. With all of the invasive light expelled from inside, it was time to introduce the whales! This was done simply by projecting video footage of these magnificent creatures swimming underwater, kindly provided by ‘Okeanos- Stiftung für das Meer’ onto the black plastic bin liner wall. To further emphasise the impacts of plastic pollution, the footage was shown amongst hanging netting and torn plastics. With a handful of eyeholes cut into the front, a large laminated sign and some "ever so British" (as quoted by one of our many onlookers) bunting hung on top, the ambitious ‘Cetacean Cove’ was finally a reality.

As the weekend progressed it was clear that curiosity and good word of ‘Cetacean Cove’ had spread amongst members of the public and fellow exhibitors as the number of visitors to our installation rapidly increased. It was apparent that this installation was certainly thought- provoking and in the majority of cases resulted in people talking about how severe the issue of plastic pollution in the oceans is and how they can change their lifestyles in an attempt to reduce their own impacts.

Courney, 22, said "I think a lot of people don't realise the impacts that plastics have on our oceans and it is something that certained needs more awareness. Your installation allows you to consider the situation and effectively highlights the problems".

While Elliot, 12, and Oliver said that the "installation represents our sea and shows what is happening to our whales' habitat".

Vicky, from our neighbouring stall for the WDCS, was pleased to say that the installation "Grabs your interest, as it was something we have not seen before".

The success of our installation was also evident when children would encourage their parents to come back to the installation on numerous occasions just so they could see the whales and tell us stories of their recycling habits. Overall the whole weekend was a success and we are sure this isn’t the end for ‘Cetacean Cove’. Thanks for the positive feedback guys!

(Below is an image of the inside of Cetacean Cove)