Marine Life & Conservation
Students’ litter picking data to help clean up UK seas
The Marine Conservation Society’s Great British Beach Clean invites schools across the country to clean up the UK’s seas, no matter where they are.
The Marine Conservation Society has developed a suite of new educational resources for this year’s Great British Beach Clean, running from 17th to 26th September. There’s plenty of opportunity for students to get involved in a beach clean or inland litter pick and learn about ocean pollution no matter where they are.
The charity has created a pack of lessons and resources for primary and secondary ages focusing on marine litter. Students can explore the plastics problem from their classroom or take part in their own beach, street, park or playground clean.
Jenny Griffiths, Education Manager at the Marine Conservation Society: “The Great British Beach Clean is a fantastic way to bring the issue of ocean pollution to life. Whether you’re by the beach or miles from it, we’ve created a pack of helpful resources to engage young people with the issue of littering and explore the link to beach and ocean pollution. As well as in class and outdoor learning, our resources will help young people to identify practical ways we can all play a part in reducing marine litter and raise awareness of this important issue.”
For schools by the coast, students can take part in a beach clean and help gather data for the Marine Conservation Society using the charity’s survey form. Inland, the charity’s Source to Sea Litter Quest is a great way to illustrate how far pollution travels to make it to the ocean. The Litter Quest form pulls out some of the most common litter items on UK beaches and asks volunteers inland to see how many they can spot.
By taking part in the Litter Quest students can help to stop pollution at its source and keep the UK’s beaches clean from miles away.
Last year, Marine Conservation Society volunteers found an average of 425 items of litter for every 100 metres of beach cleaned in the UK. Inland, 70% of litter picks taking place on streets and in parks found PPE litter, 99% found drinks containers.
Dr Laura Foster, Head of Clean Seas at the Marine Conservation Society: “All of the data our volunteers collect on beaches, streets and parks across the country helps to make a real difference. Data collected in previous years has helped us make the case for the 5p carrier bag charges across the UK. We’re now pushing for Deposit Return Schemes for all sizes and types of drinks containers. We hope that a deposit on these will mean that in the future, we won’t be seeing cans and bottles littered and data such as this helps us show just how significant this change can be.”
The data also helps the charity to see the impact of things like the 5p carrier bag charges. Since their introduction from 2011 in Wales the charity has seen a 55% drop in the amount of single-use plastic bags found across UK beaches. The more data volunteers collect, the more policies the charity can push for to make beach and ocean pollution a thing of the past.
Teachers can find all the resources for the Great British Beach Clean, and Litter Quest, on the Marine Conservation Society’s website. Resources are available for primary and secondary ages and are suitable for schools and groups.
Images by Alisdair Naulls
Marine Life & Conservation
Double Bubble for Basking Sharks
The Shark Trust is excited to announce that, for two more days only, all donations, large or small, will be doubled in the Big Give Green Match Fund!
Donate to Basking in Nature: Sighting Giants
The Shark Trust is hoping to raise £10k which will be doubled to £20k. This will go towards Basking in Nature: Sighting Giants. And they need YOUR help to reach they’re goal.
The Shark Trust’s citizen science project is to monitor and assess basking sharks through sightings; encouraging data collection, community engagement, and promoting nature accessibility. This initiative aims to enhance health and wellbeing by fostering a deeper connection with British Sharks.
Campaign Aims
- Increase citizen science reporting of Basking Sharks and other shark sightings to help inform shark and ray conservation.
- Provide educational talks about the diverse range of sharks and rays in British waters and accessible identification guides!
- Create engaging and fun information panels on how to ID the amazing sharks and rays we have on our doorstep! These can be used on coastal paths around the Southwest. With activities and information on how you can make a difference for sharks and rays!
- Promote mental wellbeing through increasing time in nature and discovering the wonders beneath the waves!
Donate, and double your impact. Click Here
Marine Life & Conservation
Leading UK-based shark conservation charity, the Shark Trust, is delighted to announce tour operator Diverse Travel as a Corporate Patron
Corporate Patrons provide a valuable boost to the work of The Shark Trust. The Trust team works globally to safeguard the future of sharks, and their close cousins, the skates and rays, engaging with a global network of scientists, policymakers, conservation professionals, businesses and supporters to further shark conservation.
Specialist tour operator Diverse Travel has operated since 2014 and is committed to offering its guests high quality, sustainable scuba diving holidays worldwide. Working together with the Shark Trust will enable both organisations to widen engagement and encourage divers and snorkellers to actively get involved in shark conservation.
“Sharks are truly at the heart of every diver and at Diverse Travel, we absolutely share that passion. There is nothing like seeing a shark in the wild – it’s a moment that stays with you forever!” says Holly Bredin, Sales & Marketing Manager, Diverse Travel.
“We’re delighted to celebrate our 10th year of business by becoming a Corporate Patron of the Shark Trust. This is an exciting partnership for Diverse and our guests. We will be donating on behalf of every person who books a holiday with us to contribute towards their vital shark conservation initiatives around the world. We will also be working together with the Trust to inspire divers, snorkellers and other travellers to take an active role – at home and abroad – in citizen science projects and other activities.”
Paul Cox, CEO of The Shark Trust, said:
“It’s an exciting partnership and we’re thrilled to be working with Diverse Travel to enable more divers and travellers to get involved with sharks and shark conservation. Sharks face considerable conservation challenges but, through collaboration and collective action, we can secure a brighter future for sharks and their ocean home. This new partnership takes us one more valuable step towards that goal.”
For more information about the Shark Trust visit their website here.
For more about Diverse Travel click here.
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