Marine Life & Conservation
Are you beach clean ready?
Volunteers needed for Marine Conservation Society’s annual Great British Beach Clean
The Marine Conservation Society is holding its annual Great British Beach Clean from Friday 17th to Sunday 26th September, 2021 and is calling for volunteers from across the country to join in and help.
The UK’s beaches and seas are a haven for an incredible variety of wildlife, which are put at risk by pollution. Animals can get tangled in plastic wrapping, become distressed, or mistake pollution such as plastic bags for food. This often proves fatal to them. With 11 million tonnes of plastic entering the ocean every year, everyone can help…no matter where they are.
The Marine Conservation Society’s newest Ocean Ambassador, comedian Zoe Lyons, is supporting the charity’s call to arms for volunteers: “What does it mean to be beach clean ready? When it comes to the UK, it means being prepared for anything! Come rain, shine or gale force winds, we’ll be there with a litter picker in hand with a smile on our faces.
“The Great British Beach Clean is a fantastic way to dip a toe into the world of beach cleaning. Getting involved means you’ll be part of a global project which not only clears litter, but gathers important data which helps to clear the ocean from pollution.”
As the world starts to open up again, the Great British Beach Clean is a fantastic opportunity to get out and do something good for the environment.”
The Great British Beach Clean, supported thanks to funding raised by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, is more than just a clean up. Every year volunteers make note of the litter they collect, sharing the data with the Marine Conservation Society’s experts. The charity has used data collected to campaign for legislation to limit beach and ocean pollution, including for Deposit Return Schemes for all types of drinks containers across the UK. Scotland is due to implement a Deposit Return Scheme in July 2022.
Since the introduction of the 5p carrier bag charge in Wales in 2011, and across the rest of the UK since, the Marine Conservation Society reports a 55% drop in the single-use bags found on beaches across the UK. But, the UK’s beaches remain polluted. At last year’s Great British Beach Clean, volunteers found an average of 425 items of litter for every 100 metres of UK beach cleaned.
Logging the impacts on the environment of the pandemic, the charity asked volunteers to note how much PPE equipment, like face masks and gloves, they came across on the coast. Last year, face masks and gloves were found on almost 30% of beaches cleaned by volunteers.
Lizzie Prior, Beachwatch Officer at the Marine Conservation Society: “We’re hoping that more volunteers than ever before are beach clean ready this year. After having to downsize during lockdown last year, we want to gather as much data as we can to understand the state of pollution on the UK’s shores.”
Most litter that ends up on the beach and in the sea starts its journey in villages, towns and cities miles from the coast. For those not based by the sea, the charity’s Source to Sea Litter Quest is a fantastic way to get involved, and stop pollution before it makes its way to the sea. Volunteers taking part in a Litter Quest can keep the UK’s beaches and seas clean, from miles away.
Volunteers are encouraged to sign up for a beach clean from 17th to 26th September this year via the Marine Conservation Society’s website. More information on the Source to Sea Litter Quest can be found here.
For those wanting to play their part ahead of September’s Great British Beach Clean, the Marine Conservation Society’s Plastic Challenge is running throughout July and offers tips and tricks to reduce everyday single-use plastics, stopping pollution at source. The charity’s Plastic Free Seas appeal is raising money to help support beach cleaners doing what they do best, providing equipment to make beach cleaning easier, and training up new volunteers.
To learn more about the work of the Marine Conservation Society visit their website by clicking here.
After a two-year tour of UK art galleries, community spaces and aquariums, the Shark Trust’s acclaimed Oceanic31 exhibition takes its final bow at the Royal Geographical Society later this month. And the unique collection of artwork, depicting 31 species of oceanic sharks and rays, donated by 31 artists, is now open for bids from art lovers and shark enthusiasts. The online auction, launched today, will close on the 7th December at 8pm (BST). The money raised will support the Shark Trust Oceanics Programme.
People can now bid on 27 of the artworks by visiting this website:
https://superstars-auctions.com/sharktrustauction
It is a chance to own a beautiful piece of original art and to support the Shark Trust. The timing of the auction also means that these would make a very special Christmas gift for any shark-lover.
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- Bigeye Thresher Shark by Janina Rossiter
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- Carcharodon carcharias by Jimmy Higgs
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- Croc VR 2030 by Tom Mead
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- Oceanic Whitetip by ATM
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- Silky Street by ScapaJoe
The diversity of pieces mirrors that of the sharks and rays they represent. You can bid on paintings, digital creations, sculptures, mixed media and more. You can pick your favourite artist or species of shark. Or you can select the perfect artwork to make a statement in your home or office. Whichever you choose, you will be supporting the work to protect these amazing animals.
One of the pieces of art has been selected to be auctioned live by Steve Backshall at the For the Love of Sharks event at the Royal Geographical Society in London on the 29th November. In addition to this, two further pieces will be raffled at this event, giving people a chance to win an incredible piece of shark art. For the Love of Sharks is the Shark Trust’s flagship evening. A night to celebrate sharks. Steve Backshall is the headline speaker at this event that will see other prominent shark advocates join him on stage.
Tickets for the event can be snapped up here:
https://thesharktrust.org.uk/Event/flos24
Those that would like to see the Oceanic 31 exhibition have one final chance. It is being displayed at the Pavilion at the Royal Geographic Society from 26th November until the 7th December. Entry is free.
Find out more here:
https://www.rgs.org/events/upcoming-events/oceanic-31
Paul Cox, Shark Trust CEO, Said “This exhibition has given us the opportunity to reach out to a new audience. And inspire more people with the wonderful sharks and rays on which our Big Shark Pledge campaign is based. We are immensely grateful to the 31 artists who have worked so hard to create these works.”
Bid for your favourite Oceanic 31 artwork here:
https://superstars-auctions.com/sharktrustauction
Banner Image: Smooth Hammerhead by Alicia Hayden
Until 28 November, prizes worth a massive £10,000 – including experiences, products and tuition – feature in a line-up of items that can be won for £5 in an online prize draw to celebrate Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation’s 20th anniversary and help generate crucial funds for the future.
Top of the list of prizes is the chance to spend time with adventurer and wildlife expert Steve Backshall, a workout session with Nat Geo star Aldo Kane, a kayaking trip alongside white-water expert and diver Sal Montgomery and a Zoom call with ‘shark whisperer’ Cristina Zenato.
On top of that, some of the most admired companies in the diving and scuba industry have been quick to support the charity with fabulous prizes that make the £5 ticket price worth more than just a flutter.
Master Liveaboards, BSAC, Midlands Diving Chamber, Go Freediving and Blue Shark Snorkel have all generously donated experience prizes, while celebrated photographer Alex Mustard has donated a print and artists Scott Gleed and Olivier Leger have donated a sculpture and illustration to help boost the fundraising pot.
Fourth Element has donated Ocean Positive gear and LA watch company Nodus has gifted the charity a stunning dive watch. For land lovers, the charity has included a five star London hotel stay at Bankside Hotel plus a family visit to Longleat Safari Park in the roster of prizes.
Campaign director for Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’ve been overwhelmed with support from companies and individuals that we truly admire and who have supported us on our 20 year journey and we’re truly grateful to them all. While we feel incredibly proud of our achievements over the past two decades – and we are super excited about the next chapter – this prize draw isn’t a vanity project. It represents a real lifeline to our work and important advancements in the global protection of sharks. So we hope divers, dive clubs and even bargain hunters grab some tickets to make this a massive success.”
The charity hopes that the prize draw will generate crucial funds to launch a brand new, ground-breaking, campaign to enrol the public and increase support for the protection of sharks around the world.
To enter the competition visit www.bite-back.com/prizedraw. The prize winners will be announced on 1 December 2024.
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