Documenting a changing landscape, sharing foraged meals over a fire, creating art from beach debris, this short documentary film by outdoor brand VOITED and film makers SUMMIT FEVER MEDIA explores what’s at stake on our shores.
Eco-conscious outdoor brand, VOITED has collaborated with documentary film makers SUMMIT FEVER MEDIA on ‘The Anti-Pollution Pirates’, a short film intended to inspire action and help us to reconnect with nature through creativity and sustainability. The film will be available to watch for 24 hours on 16 November.
We caught up with the team behind it, Ellie Green, Co-Founder of Summit Fever Media, and Hannah Craig, Marketing Manager at VOITED.
The film takes place on beaches in the North West Highlands; what’s your connection with these landscapes?
ELLIE: My connection goes back many, many years. My husband, Matt, and I have worked in the outdoors in Scotland since 2016, but we’ve also walked, hiked, camped and generally enjoyed these wild spaces for as long as we’ve been together. In fact, we met in Scotland on a winter mountaineering course, so it is very special to us. I also spent a lot of my childhood up there. So there’s a lot of personal and professional meaning for us in Scotland. And I suppose that’s a major element of it – for so long we have been in these wonderful outdoor spaces, dare I say taking these landscapes for granted, so it was about time we gave something back.
Can you tell me about what you did when you got there?
ELLIE: We kept the idea very simple: hike in, camp out, and clean the beach. Originally we were going to packraft in, but it was so windy that we had more of a chance of ending up in the Atlantic thanour designated location! Once we arrived, there was a brief moment of ‘now what’? The weather was howling so we settled into the rhythm of getting a fire going, putting coffee on, and sorting out our wet gear. Once re-fuelled, we got stuck into our beach clean.
We came well prepared with sturdy bags, gloves and gear, and then just dug in. Literally! We bagged everything up that we could, and thanks to the support of some of the locals, the rubbish was then boated out for us. Without their help, the logistics would have been near impossible. And I’d like to also mention that there are local efforts to clean the beaches but the sheer volume of waste washing up daily means it’s like trying to brush sand off a beach. It’s endless.
What sort of litter did you find?
ELLIE: All sorts! I think the most surprising thing was the amount of industrial wast – and so much of it. Fishing rope, hundreds upon hundreds of plastic pegs, giant tyres, big cargo style bags. Then there’s the consumer waste. A stand out for me was a kids’ Shein bag, plastic bottles, old crates, buoys, fragments of plastic containers, bits of polystyrene, and things so weathered they were barely recognisable. Some pieces had been there so long they’d started to embed themselves into the earth.
“Being out there together – camping, cooking, swimming – reminded me that positive action doesn’t have to be heavy or solemn, or all encompassing.”
Ellie Green, Co-Founder of Summit Fever Media
What surprised you about the trip?
ELLIE: The sheer volume of rubbish astounded me. I was expecting some, of course, but not the amount that we found. I think because of its location, this beach on the North West of Scotland, is hit with the brunt of the tidal sea rubbish; it catches it all perfectly. Emotionally, I was surprised by how much positivity there was alongside the sadness. On one hand it was disheartening to see so much waste, but being out there together camping, cooking, swimming reminded me that positive action doesn’t have to be heavy or solemn, or all encompassing.
“I’m not saying that one small beach clean made a massive dent in our environmental catastrophe but I’m becoming more and more aware that even small actions are important and necessary and can be powerful when many people join in.”
Ellie Green, Co-Founder of Summit Fever Media
You say the film is about more than just collecting waste, what did you mean?
ELLIE: For me, the beach clean was the practical reason we were there, but what made the trip meaningful was everything that grew around that effort. When you’re out in a remote place, working side by side with people, friends, as cliched as this may sound there is a shared purpose that brings people together. I think a lot about community, about how now that we have more online lives our connection to in-person community slowly erodes. So being together doing something that felt like we were making a difference, felt important on many levels to me. And I think it goes back to what I mentioned about the importance of giving back. For many years, I’ve thought of our natural world as a space for play and recreation, and it was what I could take away from it; it wasn’t at the forefront of my mind to take time out of my busy life to ensure these spaces are still around for future generations. I’m not saying that one small beach clean made a massive dent in our environmental catastrophe but I’m becoming more and more aware that even small actions are important and necessary and can be powerful when many people join in.
What’s the message you want viewers to come away with?
ELLIE: That you don’t have to be perfect to start, I don’t think any of us would claim to be close to it, and sometimes if you have big goals it can be hard to find the time to get started, so we decided small actions were the way forward for us. You just have to show up and do it again and again. We’re going to make it a yearly thing, and find different remote areas of coast each time. Also, that environmental effort doesn’t have to be grand or heavy; it can involve having a great time with friends, having an adventure with joy and creativity. It’s not about being preachy. It’s easy to feel powerless and overwhelmed in the face of environmental concerns so If this film helps some feel a bit more empowered to take a small action in their own community, then that’s just brilliant.
What was the motivation behind VOITED getting involved?
HANNAH: We met Summit Fever Media at an outdoor festival in Cornwall back in June 2024 and the connection with their storytelling and team was instant. Shared values, shared love for wild places, and a shared belief in storytelling as a force for change. So when he came to us with this idea, we were all in. This film isn’t about ticking a sustainability box. It shows what happens when creativity, community and action collide. That’s exactly what VOITED is here for. Our gear is made for wild moments, but it’s also made to protect the places that make those moments possible. From our recycled materials to our commitment to durability and conscious design – we’re not perfect, but we’re doing the work. This story puts that mission into motion. It’s raw, real, and a reminder that every action, no matter how small, adds up. We’re proud to help bring it to life.
If you miss it this time, there will be a second 24-hour live online screening on 26 December plus screenings at film festivals. 2025. A SUMMIT FEVER MEDIA Film Presented by VOITED
Jo is the Gear Editor for Outdoor Swimmer and also writes news and features for the website. A keen open water swimmer and long-distance walker, she loves seeking out lakes and lidos close to her home in the Mendip Hills, Somerset. She is the author of The Slow Traveller, editor and founder of independent magazine, Ernest, and has previously tested outdoor clothing and kit for BBC Countryfile Magazine, BBC Focus and Ernest Journal.
