Interesting fact...
Environment & Ecology.
The Isle of Portland has an extensive range of flora and fauna; the coastline and disused quarries are designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Sea and migratory birds occupy the cliffs in different seasons, sometimes these include rare species which draw ornithologists from around the country. Rare visitors to the surrounding seas include dolphins, seals, and basking sharks. Chesil Beach is one of only two sites in Britain where the Scaly Cricket can be found; unlike any other cricket it is wingless and does not sing or hop. A number of British primitive goats have recently been introduced to the East Weares part of the island to control scrub.
The comparatively warm and sunny climate allows species of plants to thrive which do not on the mainland. The limestone soil has low nutrient levels; hence smaller species of wild flowers and grasses are able to grow in the absence of larger species. Portland Sea Lavender can be found on the cliffs and rocky foreshores – unique to Portland it is one of the United Kingdom’s rarest plants. With our reclamation works at the marina we have been proporgating these rare plants on our foreshore from seeds.
The wild flowers and plants make an excellent habitat for butterflies; over half of the British Isles’ 57 butterfly species can be seen on Portland, including varieties that migrate from mainland Europe. Butterfly buffs will be excited by our Silver Studded Blue.
Rabbits, or "Bunnies" as they should be known, have long been associated with bad luck on Portland; use of the name is still taboo. Quarry workers would see bunnies emerging from their burrows immediately before a rock fall or a deadly landslide. Beware, some locals are genuinely offended by the mention of the "R" word, to the extent that when posters were erected for the film ‘The Curse of the Were-Rabbit’ special posters were produced for Portland entitled ‘Something Bunny is going on’. Honestly!
On the sea bed at Portland we have a very rare lagoon sandworm called Armandia Cirrhosa – it is tiny (some 5mm long) is segmented and has three eyes. Ultra rare in this country, it was the source of much debate during the planning and construction phases of the marina, and had it not been for a pragmatic view taken by Natural England, could have blocked the development of the marina.
During construction of the marina we were not allowed to carry out any piling for the pontoons or do anything that would cause a noise or disturbance during the winter period, in case we upset the over wintering birds that shelter in the Fleet. We also had to carry out bird counts regularly, and this we still do to monitor the potential affect on birdlife. So far we have seen no changes to their patterns.
We also have to be very careful about surface water drainage flowing into the clean and clear waters of the harbour, and with a series of filters and catch pits, we ensure that drainage water is squeaky clean when it leaves our site. It goes without saying that the emptying of boat holding tanks is more taboo here than shouting ‘Rabbit’.
And with all this free wind we decided to erect wind turbines to feed electricity back into the grid, and these iconic turbines were produced by our friends in Northern Ireland Westwind. Go to the Westwind turbines website for more info. And if you go into our pub, and they dim the lights in the evening saying that the wind is dropping, don’t you believe them!
Soltron - Fuel Enzymes
Key benifits of using our on site deisel that contains Soltron:
- Conditions and enhances all liquefied fossil fuels for improved combustion.
- Recovers sludge in storage tanks into a certified "enhanced" fuel without the need for normal maintenance or decommissioning of tanks to clean.
- Improves efficiency of fuel, stabilises fuel and acts as a natural detergent in the fuels.
- Reduced emissions, optimising and sustaining engine/boiler performance.
- Reducing CO" through better combustion by reducing specific fuel consumption.
- Inhibiting bacterial growth in fuel and also treats existing contaminated fuel.
Waste and recycling
There are two locations within the marina for disposing of domestic refuse: the compound in the centre of the car park and the waste containers on G pontoon.
All waste collected at the marina is collected by Veolia who are striving to eradicte waste going to landfill. All the usual recyclables can be put in the bins with orange lids (paper, cardboard, plastic, polystyrene, and other packaging wastes). The only recyclable materials that cannot be collected through this scheme are foil drinks cartons.
There are also facilities for disposing of waste oil.
Port waste
Portland Marina has a detailed waste management plan. Among other areas, we fully conform with legislation on the disposal of catering waste from non EU countries. So if you have food waste from outside of the EU, please declare it and we will provide a seperate refuse bin (which will then go off seperately for inceration or be put in a very deep hole!).
Please do not throw your rubbish overboard
We would be most grateful if you could make use of one of our refuse compounds.