We love clean beaches
Despite the fact that we currently live in Britain’s most land locked area, James and I are great lovers of the sea and yearn to move there at a later stage in our lives. We are as a result avid supporters of MSC (Marine Conservation Society) and this year I fulfilled a long-term goal of becoming a volunteer on their Beachwatch Weekend.
On Sunday morning I bundled my sleepy 11 year old daughter and our energetic 2 year old Labrador, Roxy, into the car and headed south to Hill Head beach in Hampshire – What a treat! I joined a group of 12 or so like-minded beachcombers lead by the organizer Julie Joyce and her canine friend Misty to clear the beach of litter left behind by other beachgoers or washed ashore from boats. Despite the fact that we were picking up litter we had a lot of fun, chatting about various topics, watching the dogs frolic in the sea and enjoying the views of the small boating bobbing along the Solent.
The first 100yards took a little longer as we had to catalogue everything that was found and then weigh it. In total 11kg of rubbish was collected in just 100m of beach! MSC reported in 2008 that more rubbish is being left on beaches today than ever before. The density of litter collected has increased by 110% since records began in 1994. A staggering 2195 items were collected per km of beach!
We all need to take care of our coastline if only to prevent the plastic products ending up on tropical beaches and coral reefs where they are harming the wildlife we all love. Take a look at the MSC site and see if you can join a local Beachwatch group at their next event. We all enjoyed a beautiful day on a stunning piece of coastline and left with lighter hearts knowing that we had lent a helping hand to our diverse and spectacular sealife and coastline.
A job well done. What can you do to keep our beaches clean?