I’ve been volunteering for MCS since 2012, organising and running beach cleans in my local area. When my employer launched an environmental initiative in 2015, I worked with MCS and my employer to organise a beach clean for staff members, which was a great success!
I have been involved with a joint MCS and Defra project since September 2015. The project is part of UK’s contribution to a piece of EU legislation called the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). The project is a specific monitoring programme, four times per year, on up to 20 beaches geographically spread around the UK. I have run all MSFD events in my local area since the project started. The data collected goes directly to Defra, however MSFD monitoring requires us to look at the same set of beaches over the next three years, and needs to have the full set of seasonal data (i.e. four times per year).
In addition, I have delivered education sessions in schools, attended events and campaigned to ban the mass release of balloons and sky lanterns. I do also volunteer for a couple of other charities, as well as working in retail.
Whilst I consider my volunteering role to play an important part of the bigger picture, I’m always inspired by people who fundraise for MCS in amazing ways, such as swimming the English Channel or rowing the Atlantic single-handed. There are so many passionate people raising awareness of plastic pollution, climate change and the health of our seas, that I was really surprised to learn that I had been nominated for the Outstanding Achievement Award. Not only that, but I’d also won it!
Helping to raise the profile of the work MCS do and how our actions are affecting the planet is something I care greatly about. I never imagined (or expected) to win an award for volunteering with MCS. but it was truly humbling to receive it!
It was a great experience to attend MCS’s AGM in London, and to catch up with some familiar faces. The evening was positive and had a lovely atmosphere. Now I’m looking forward to 2020 and continuing with my volunteering.
It was a great experience to attend MCS’s AGM in London, and to catch up with some familiar faces. The evening was positive and had a lovely atmosphere. Now I’m looking forward to 2020 and continuing with my volunteering.
Well done Andy! And to all our Sea Champions who help us across the country with our work. If you would like to attend a beach clean, or run your own, feel free to visit our Beachwatch website: mcsuk.org/beachwatch.
