Solving plastics in seabirds through philanthropy

Dr Jennifer Lavers is passionate about solving the problem of plastics in seabirds, a passion shared by Hobart-based philanthropist Penny Clive, who Jennifer describes as an ally.

“The project wouldn’t be the same without knowing Penny is in our corner,” Dr Lavers said. “She is fundamental.”

And this is a project that requires endurance. Dr Lavers, a research scientist at the University’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), has been visiting Lord Howe Island studying plastics in seabirds for 15 years. For the last decade, Penny has been at her side, supporting the research financially and in a very hands-on way.

Penny accompanies Jennifer on her annual field trips to the UNESCO-listed island, recording the location of seabirds being studied, who handles them, and the results of the investigations being undertaken.

The project, which builds on data collected since 2001, has produced the world’s second-longest dataset of plastic ingestion by seabirds. The long-term record enables scientists to detect trends, including the impacts of shifts in government policy regarding plastics.

“For the first three years, I didn’t see anything of Lord Howe Island, the work was so intense,” Penny said.

“Plastic ingestion in marine birds is a massive problem; I don’t think the implications are known.”

Dr Lavers explains that the effects of plastics on seabirds are twofold: the physical burden of plastics in seabirds’ guts and the potential for toxicological effects. She works in a research team known as Adrift Lab, alongside researchers such as School of Medicine immunology researcher Dr Jack Rivers-Auty, who studies wildlife affected by microplastic exposure.

“I follow Jennifer’s work quite closely, and Jenn updates me,” Penny said.

Providing financial support and being so closely involved in the research has enabled Penny, whose father was a research scientist, to continue her interest in the environment. “I’m an observer of nature,” Penny said. “I always have been, since I was a child.

“I’m interested in the consequences and impacts of human activity, how nature responds, and finding constructive ways forward.”

The results from the research on Lord Howe Island, which leads the way in regional waste management, are stark.

“About 80 per cent of birds tested contained plastics and, on average, each bird has between 10 and 20 pieces of plastic inside it,” Dr Lavers said, adding that the number of birds with plastics in their stomachs has not declined over the study period.

“Shearwaters are not picky,” she said, referring to what the seabirds scavenge at sea. “And that spells trouble.

“Plastic is a rapidly emerging threat … With philanthropy, you can respond to the issue with the speed it warrants. I think this is so important.”

What is also needed, she says, is a multidisciplinary approach, bringing in people from other disciplines, including the arts, to provide new insights and solutions, as well as creative approaches to awareness raising.

This is another area where Penny Clive has provided much-needed assistance.

University of Tasmania alumna and artist Dr Lucienne Rickard, for example, has been supported by Penny’s philanthropy, which has enabled her to collaborate with Dr Lavers through Adrift Lab.

The resulting artwork, Ecology Studies, is a long-term daily performance at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, in which Lucienne draws a large tableau of flesh-footed shearwater as well as her family memories from Lord Howe Island, where she visited her grandmother on school holidays.

“Philanthropy has undeniably been the key to our success over the last decade. Without Penny, we would have folded.”

Dr Jennifer Lavers, University of Tasmania

Penny Clive (left) and Dr Jennifer Lavers (right) Image: Peter Allen

Dr Lavers describes watching people being drawn into Lucienne’s work, which depicts the decline in the shearwaters’ population. “People gravitate to her, they want to look at it, linger over it, stare at it and show their friends,” she said.

“Philanthropy throws open the door … It brings together arts and science and social aspects that are often forgotten about. It’s transformational. “When you’re down in the trenches, it can be quite depressing …To work with people who have been trained in other ways broadens your horizons. It brings new opportunities and lifts your spirits.

“For me, it’s really inspiring.”