This Wonderful Little Place … Sandy Cove Island, Kinsale - The Gloss Magazine

This Wonderful Little Place … Sandy Cove Island, Kinsale

Climate change advisor Dr Tara Shine takes the plunge off this small island in Co Cork …

For my 40th birthday I asked my family to buy me a wetsuit (I hate the cold) so I could start sea swimming. That was seven years ago and there’s no better way to start to the day than with a sunrise swim. I now live and work in Kinsale where I discovered Sandy Cove island, or Cnoc an Rois, on the outskirts of the town: it’s pure magic. The island is home to some goats and lots of seabirds and no two days are the same. Many swimmers are drawn to the challenge of swimming round the island’s 1.8km circumference – and the island has been used as a training ground for long distance swimmers.

One day I was on the slipway coming out of the water and got chatting to Madeline [Murray] who is now my business partner in Change by Degrees, our social enterprise, which encourages people and organisations to live and work more sustainably. I believe systemic change can only come about through personal actions, one small step at a time, which empowers people and companies to make a difference and gives them agency. That is the basis of my new book How to Save Your Planet One Object At A Time [Simon & Schuster, £16.99]. I want to reassure people that it’s not too late, but it is urgent. Unless we alter our behaviour change remains an abstract idea.

I believe systemic change can only come about through personal actions, one small step at a time, which empowers people and companies to make a difference and gives them agency.

My interest in environmental science began early. My dad was a geography teacher and I grew up surrounded by National Geographic magazines and going for Sunday car journeys to spot drumlins and corrie lakes. These early journeys inspired me to find out more about the natural world and I’ve had the privilege of travelling to every continent in the world as part of my work.

I was lucky to live in the golden era of travel; but that is changing as air travel contributes to climate change. I spent nearly three years living in Mauritania – a country dominated by the Sahara desert with 50oC heat in the summer. It’s a very harsh place to live, with proud people. One highlight was finding crocodiles that were thought to be extinct. Borneo was another great adventure: my visit was part of a BBC expedition. I found the contrast between virgin rainforest and palm oil plantations striking. The rainforest is full of life and noise, while the palm oil plantations are deathly silent. Mongolia, where I worked with nomadic herders, was also breathtaking.

For many years I’ve been involved in “big picture, top down” policy making at UN level, including the Paris Agreement [Shine is the incoming chair of the International Institute of Environment and Development]. In that capacity, I’ve had the opportunity to meet some amazing people including Mary Robinson, with whom I worked for eight years on her Foundation. We stay in touch and I am lucky to have her as a sounding board, and I hope I offer her the same level of support.

I also value the friendship of the “mermaids and mermen” at Sandy Cove. After our swims on Friday mornings we have coffee, cake and chat. While the weather has precluded regular swims this winter, in the summer I go most mornings at 6am. It’s essential to do something for our mental health and with my “sanity swims” at Sandy Cove I wash away my worries.

Main featured image: Dr Tara Shine photographed by John Allen

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