A sculpture of a Sea Serpent called Samudra has reappeared outside Sideshore on Exmouth seafront.

The sculpture was first installed early on Saturday, (July 22) 2023 and has returned to Sideshore after a long winter in storage.

Zoey Cooper, climate and ecological emergency resilience officer at Exmouth Town Council told the Journal: "Look who's back! Samudra the plastic-eating sea serpent is at Sideshore again, spruced up and feeling hungry after the long winter.

"Samudra particularly enjoys empty, clean plastic bottles and single-use cups. She does NOT like the Exmouth Cup, cans or glass.

"Please help to keep our beautiful beach and seafront clean and think before you get rid of your rubbish."

It is made from recycled and scrap material with a steel frame and has a barrel for collecting empty plastic bottles for recycling.

East Devon District Council will collect the bottles and recycle them. The council wants to encourage more recycling along the seafront, especially of plastic bottles. 

Exmouth Youth Theatre sang and Zoey Cooper, Exmouth Town Council's Climate Officer, explained the background to the project. She thanked Little Lost Robot for their brilliant design and construction. Students from Brixington, Withycombe Raleigh, Exeter Road and the Deaf Academy schools also helped design the project.

Exmouth's Mayor formally named the sea serpent at the unveiling in 2022 ("Samudra" is Indonesian for ocean) and, with some young helpers, demonstrated how to feed the monster with plastic bottles. Lotte, from Happy Bubbles, made sure we had a steady supply of bubbles floating past the magical sea creature at all times. 

Simon Findel-Hawkins from Sideshore explained how Sideshore was the perfect location for the installation and how Samudra chimed with their sustainability values and objectives.

There are three entry points for plastic bottles on the recycling sculpture and the messaging is clear - please recycle your plastic bottles here. Ideally, there will be more sea creatures along the seafront, and they may 'eat' different types of waste. However, Exmouth Town Council urges people to remember their reusable drinking bottles and cups and consider refilling before recycling. 

Samudra the Sea Serpent is a joint initiative from Exmouth Town Council and Sideshore. They will monitor the plastic waste and invite feedback.