Wildlife Cruise on the Firth of Forth

Scottish Sea Champion Casey Perry talked indepth about seals onboard wildlife cruise co-hosted by RSPB and Sea Champion Volunteer Coordinator Matt Barnes.

From kittiwakes, gannets, fulmars and gilimots to puffins, seals and many more species, around 90 people jumped onboard the cruise to spot some of Scotlands amazing wildlife in the Firth of Forth. 

Whilst Matt and Casey talked about wildlife, Sea Champion Sarah Conner encouraged people to pledge for marine protection in Scotland.

Grey Seal by Dave Boyle

Oceans on a Plate!

Sea Champions Tammy Palmer and Clare Johnson attended the World Oceans Day event at Looe Monkey Sanctuary where they ran all sorts of kids activities to celebrate our oceans.  From 'Ocean's on a Plate' to marine quizzes, the kids were entertained whilst parents had the change to pledge for marine protection in our UK seas.

Sea Champion Tammy Palmer running kids activities for World Oceans Day!

"Run for the Reef"

Pupils at Mary Erskine School in Edinburgh raised an amazing £4,000 for the Marine Conservation Society during their sponsored "Run for the Reef"!

After singing a few hymns in the school assembly for "Environment Day", Sea Champions Volunteer Coordinator Matt Barnes thanked the pupils and talked about the threats of pollution to Scotland's amazing wildlife and how the gratefully received funds will contribute to the campaign for clean seas and beaches.

Pupils from Mary Erskine School running for the reef!

Litter Pick Panic!

Brand new litter awareness activity ran by south west Sea Champions!

Sea Champions Tammy Palmer and Clare Johnson had lots of fun with the new educational game “Litter-Pick Panic!” It’s a great way to educate kids about litter, by recreating the Big-Beach Clean-up in a single paddling pool! All you need to make your beach is a paddling pool, some sand, a few pebbles and some clean and varied rubbish (...but please don’t remove these from a real beach!). After explaining the threats litter poses to marine wildlife, particularly plastics, give the kids 60 seconds to clear the rubbish, after which you can look at the types of rubbish and where they might have come from.

Are you thinking of manning your own MCS stand at an event? Why not run a “Litter-Pick Panic!" activity to attract people to your stand. Get in touch with your Volunteer Coordinator for support.

Any more ideas for children's activities to highlight our key themes of marine protection, sustainable fisheries and clean seas and beaches? Comment below to share your ideas with Sea Champions across the nation!

"Litter-Pick Panic" in action!

Over a tonne of rubbish cleared from South Queensferry - one of the largest ammounts ever collected during an MCS beach clean in Scotland!

Scottish Volunteer Coordinator Matt Barnes has just become a Beachwatch Organiser as part of the Marine Conservation Soceity's Beachwatch program.

Matt organised the first quarterly clean-up of the beach at South Queensferry in May with a team of 33 volunteers, who bagged up one of the largest amounts of rubbish ever collected during an MCS beach clean in Scotland.

The volunteers were blessed with brilliant spring sunshine and collected over a tonne of rubbish including a sofa, TV, trolley and even some bikes!

You too can become a Beachwatch Organiser!

Follow the link or contact your Volunteer Coordinator for more information.

Volunteers at the first Sea Champion beach clean in Scotland!

Welcome to the Sea Champions blog!

A big, warm welcome to all our Sea Champions to the Sea Champions interactive blog!

For those of you that have stumbled across our blog, Sea Champions is an exciting new volunteering initiative for the Marine Conservation Society. With funding support from Marks & Spencer we can now mobilise thousands of volunteers across the nation that have a passion for our seas.

Sea Champions are our hands on the ground. By helping to raise a public voice in your communities Sea Champions can enable us to challenge governments and organisations who can make a difference to the way our oceans are treated. We have found that people power really brings about change for the better - convincing governments of the need for a marine act, helping supermarkets to see the need to source sustainable seafood, and informing public opinion more widely.

You can help us in our vital work, and immerse yourself in MCS activities in many different ways under our three overarching themes of marine protection, sustainable fisheries and clean seas and beaches.

From writing to your MP and pledging for marine protection in England, Scotland and Wales, distributing campaign materials, and holding talks and attending events, to creating plastic bag free communities, campaigning against balloon releases, or organising beach cleans. These are just a few of the many activities you could get involved in as a Sea Champion. Or perhaps you have a particular interest in marine wildlife and want to get involved in wildlife surveys?

This blog has been set up to help you share your stories and ideas with other Sea Champions across the nation.

Want your ideas or activities to appear on this blog? Then get in touch with your Volunteer Coordinator:

Scotland: Matt Barnes t: 07891 319268 e: matt.barnes@mcsuk.org
Wales: Rebecca O'Dowd t: 07772 218655 e: rebecca.o'dowd@mcsuk.org
South West: Patrick Joel t: 07891 319277 e: patrick.joel@mcsuk.org
South & South East: Ed Santry t: 07772 218447 e: ed.santry@mcsuk.org

In it, on it, under it or by it –however you enjoy the sea, get in touch with your Volunteer Coordinator to find out more about how you can take action.

Happy volunteering!

Justine Millard, UK Sea Champions Manager.