3rd April 2017. NCI St. Ives has received a massive boost with a donation of £5000 from the ASDA Foundation to help its recently launched webcam project which monitors Hayle Estuary.
Station Manager Helen Simpson and a group of watchkeepers were presented with a giant cheque by General Store Manager Rick Rawle at the ASDA store situated at the end of the estuary. “ASDA are delighted to support such a worthy local cause-especially one helping preserve life and ensuring safety in our water” said Mr Rawle.
The NCI St. Ives team also said a big thank you to Jenz Fentham, the Hayle stores Community Champion, for putting forward and supporting their request for a grant from the ASDA Foundation. The ASDA foundation donates more than £1.2 million a year to local causes throughout the UK as well as supporting community events including educational outreach programmes with local schools.
Miss Fentham said “We were really pleased to support St. Ives NCI with this project which monitors an area of the sea which can be seen from our store. I’m a kayaker and it’s good to know that the new camera will be keeping an eye on me when I’m out on the sea on my days off!” ASDA’s Hayle store has also assisted the NCI by making it’s training room available to the organisation.
St. Ives NCI Station Manager Helen Simpson said “We are extremely grateful to ASDA for their support - not just for the donation, but also for their overall commitment to helping our organisation. ASDA’s positive involvement in the community is a great asset to Hayle”.
The new webcam is proving a valuable asset to the NCI’s watchkeepers who have kept a daily lookout over the sea from their station on The Island in St. Ives since 1999. Even with their excellent optical equipment, viewing the Hayle Estuary with its fast-flowing currents could be a difficult task, especially when visibility was affected by bad weather or rough seas and the camera is now helping them watch over local fishing boats, leisure craft, kayakers, surfers and swimmers. Now the installation of the webcam, made possible by the support of the Riviere Sands Holiday Park on Hayle Towans, means that the area can be viewed on screen at the NCI station. The scheme has also been supported by donations from the Hayle Town Council, St. Ives Masons, Diving and EOD Ltd. and Skyarte.
The photograph (courtesy of The St. Ives Times & Echo and Hayle Times) shows Rick Rawle presenting the cheque for £5000 from the ASDA Foundation to NCI St. Ives Station Manager Helen Simpson and watchkeepers from the station