Great British Beach Clean: Five ways to further your impact
2 minute read
As well as cleaning up the coastline and capturing important data, here are five actions you can take during the Great British Beach Clean to have an even greater impact.
Walk or take public transport
If possible, walk, cycle, or take public transport to get to your beach clean. This reduces carbon emissions, traffic congestion, and is better for the health of our blue planet, and us!
Record your wildlife sightings
If you spot a jellyfish or turtle during your clean either on the shore or in the water, make sure to take a picture and report your sightings to us. This important data helps us to better understand marine species and highlight ocean trends.
Credit: Jeff Cowie
Look out for sewage pollution
Help us highlight how pervasive sewage pollution is by taking pictures or videos of any sewage-related items you see during your beach clean, such as wet wipes, period products and cotton bud sticks.
Please share your ‘sewage sightings’ with us on social media by tagging us and using the #SewageFreeSeas campaign hashtag. You can also submit your pictures on our Stop sewage pollution page.
Record disposable vapes
More and more of our volunteers are listing disposable vapes on their beach clean forms and they’ve become a hot topic. If you spot a disposable vape during your beach clean or on the way to and from it, make sure to record it on your survey form and snap a photo of it, too!
We’re supporting Laura Young’s campaign to #BanDisposableVapes and, by letting us know about any you find, you help illustrate the problem and why we need government action to tackle it.
Include disposable vapes in the ‘Plastic/polystyrene’ section of your survey form under ‘Other’ and share your photos on social media, tagging us and using the #BanDisposableVapes hashtag.
Please note: Do not endanger your safety, the safety of others, or risk injury when taking photos of sewage related litter and disposable vapes.
Credit: Dr Rebecca Wade
Sign petitions that tackle ocean pollution
Signing petitions and getting involved with campaigns that tackle ocean pollution is a brilliant way to use your voice to bring about change. Sign our petitions tackling microfibre pollution and ‘forever chemicals’, here.
Take time to connect with the ocean
While spending time down by the sea, take a while to connect with your surroundings. Being by the ocean has been found to have a positive impact on our mood and wellbeing. Take some time to experience it for yourself!
Switch off for a mindfulness moment, enjoy the sights, sounds and feelings you have by the water.
Credit: Monkey Business Images
Let us know how you get on
We love seeing our volunteers get involved in the Great British Beach Clean and hearing about their experiences. Tell us about your clean on social media – we're looking forward to seeing you there!
Thank you for joining us and our sponsor Cully & Sully Soup as we clean up our coastline this September.
