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Calling all UK divers: The Great British Beach Clean is this weekend!
The Great British Beach Clean seeks thousands of volunteers for its 26th annual clean-up
The Great British Beach Clean, hosted by the UK’s leading marine charity, the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) will take place next weekend from 20-23rd September. Members of the public are urged to join the charity to clear litter from the UK’s coastline and help collect valuable data.
Last year, 15,000 volunteers took part, removing an incredible 8,550 kilos of litter from beaches around the UK. The charity hopes to surpass last year’s record-breaking numbers with an even bigger turnout of volunteers helping to keep the UK’s beaches beautiful.
Volunteers at the Great British Beach Clean not only remove harmful marine litter, but become citizen scientists too who record valuable data which MCS uses to influence policy changes at a national level. Volunteers are asked to record all the litter they find along a designated 100m stretch of beach which helps MCS build a picture of the most prolific litter types and tackle them at source.
Environment Minister, Rebecca Pow, said: “Litter blights out beaches and threatens our ocean life. Thanks in part to the efforts of countless volunteers across the UK each year, we can help to keep them clean and protect the wildlife that lives there. But we can’t just deal with the damage caused by litter and plastic pollution – we need to tackle this issue at source and we are taking action. I encourage everyone to take part in this year’s Great British Beach Clean and to do their bit to help protect our environment. It can also be great fun.”
Lizzie Prior, MCS Beachwatch Officer, said: “Taking part in the Great British Beach Clean really can make a difference. In previous years when we’ve highlighted increases in dog poo bags and sewage related debris found on beaches and seen drops in numbers subsequently. Collecting data on litter across the UK’s beaches is all-important in turning the tide on plastic and marine pollution.”
Cleaning and surveying a beach only takes a couple of hours at most. Each beach has a coordinator who explains how to fill in a simple data form, then it’s just a case of grabbing a litter picker and a bin bag and filling it up with rubbish. Whilst some of the UK’s beaches may look clean at first glance, last year’s cleans found an average of 600 items of litter per 100m of beach; volunteers are sure to find more than they might expect.
This year, for the first time, the Great British Beach Clean will be sponsored by the Ocado Foundation, the charitable arm of the online supermarket. The Foundation will be sponsoring the event to the tune of £300,000 as part of the Environmental Pillar of its ‘Ocado Way – Corporate Responsibility Strategy’.
Suzanne Westlake, Head of Corporate Responsibility & Corporate Affairs, Ocado Foundation, said: “We’re delighted to be teaming up with the Marine Conservation Society on the GBBC. As a retailer we take our responsibilities with waste very seriously. We are very proud to be part of the event and the clean-up of Britain’s beaches it will achieve.”
Players of People’s Postcode Lottery also support the Marine Conservation Society beach litter programme.
Sign up to a clean near you at www.mcsuk.org/greatbritishbeachclean and if you can’t find an event on your preferred beach, call 01989 566017 and find out how you can organise your own.
Today we are diving one of the outer reefs from an inflatable. As we reach the bottom, a reef octopus eases its way into the cover of a small crack in the coral while displaying it’s incredible ability to change colour. They are arguably one of the most charismatic of reef dwellers and it is always exciting for me to simply hover and watch. I would have spent longer and waited for it to come and investigate me, but as dive time is limited we wanted to move on and find a turtle.
The waters around Somabay are well protected and hold a rich variety of marine life. The reef edges are thriving colonies of coral and shoaling fish, while nearer the sea bed plenty of wildlife is still to be found.
Then we located the turtles. They are very used to divers and so show little concern when slowly approached. In fact occasionally one will come over to see what you are doing. There is always huge excitement when diving with a turtle. The shear thrill of sharing a moment with another species.
What a fantastic way to finish a wonderful few days diving and I would like to thank SOMABAY, ORCA DIVING and THE BREAKERS for making my stay such a good one.
I had a great time, with diving everyday either on the house reef or on one of the offshore reefs by inflatable or larger day boat. Orca diving provided high quality equipment and facilities while the staff were all very friendly and welcoming. The Breakers was right on the coast with nice rooms, good food and once again friendly staff making the whole trip a real pleasure.
Soma Bay covers an entire peninsula and is home to several resorts as well as residential compounds.
As well as scuba diving, Somabay caters for many other sports and activities, and so is perfect for families as well as individuals and/or groups. And of course there is always time to lay peacefully on the beach under the Egyptian sun.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
Day three of my trip to Somabay and we were spending the day on the Lady Christina and diving on the wreck of the Salem Express.
Diving wrecks for me is always one of mixed emotions. The excitement of diving a wreck is more than often tempered by the thought of loss of life when she sank. The Salem Express was a passenger ship and a roll-on/roll-off ferry travelling from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Safaga, Egypt. Most passengers were of poor class travelling home from their holidays while around 150 people were returning home from their pilgrimage to Mecca.
The ship struck a reef and sank within 20 minutes. Passengers were trapped below deck and the ship was filled with fear and panic.
The wreck area is strewn with personal belongings from the crew and passengers such as a transistor radio and a flat iron for clothes. A diver at sometime has put them in a prominent place to be seen.
Tragically only one life boat was launched while the others went down with the ship. More than 600 men, women and children lost their lives here.
It’s a stark reminder that the sea can be unforgiving and so when we dive on such wrecks we should do so with humble regard.
Returning to the surface, shoals of fish are gathered under our boat and seem to be welcoming us back into the light.
Back at the Breakers I sat in the dining area with a beer and a very good meal while my thoughts still remained with the day’s dive on the Salem Express.
Check in for part 3 tomorrow for Jeff’s last day of diving with Somabay on the off-shore reefs looking for turtles.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
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