Priority Beachwatch beaches mapped!

Sea Champions can now sign up as Beachwatch Organisers on our priority beaches thanks to office Sea Champion Mary-Lou Wheeler.

Mary-Lou has done a fantastic job mapping all the beaches we have historic litter data for, but no longer have Beachwatch Organisers running surveys.

Mary has kindly donated around 35 hours of her time mapping these priority beaches, so that you can see where help is most needed.

Patrick Joel, Sea Champions Volunteer Coordinator for South West England says: "As a result of this brilliant achievement, six Sea Champions have already registered to organise Beachwatch surveys on stretches of coastline in the south west. Thank you very much Mary-Lou!"

Have you found a beach you like the look of? Then let your Volunteer Coordinator know!

View the priority beach map here>>

These are our priority beaches where we really need new Beachwatch Organisers!

 

Sea Champion Alex tame's the Great Glen!

The Ecover Team Go Blue! took on the Great Glen AND the weather to paddle non-stop for over 15 hours to raise funds for MCS.

Sea Champion Alex Milden, from Lostwithiel in Cornwall, faced snow, sleet, blizzards and sub-zero temperatures for the 57-mile coast-to-coast Great Glen Paddle between Fort William and Inverness at the weekend.

The team was led by Olympic canoe slalom C2 champion Tim Baillie and round-the-world racing yachtsman Conrad Humphreys. The 5-strong team also journalist Debbie Graham from Wild Travel Magazine; and Ecover Blue Mile participant and volunteer Katia Vastiau.

Setting off in their Fatyak Mahee kayak at 2.26am, Team Go Blue’s aim was to complete the course in one day – and they succeeded, reaching the finish line 15 hours and 18 minutes later, just as dusk was falling.

Olympic champion Tim Baillie is used to white water slalom racing over short distances so for him, this was an entirely different challenge: “I’ve never started a race at 2 in the morning before so that was a new experience! It wasn’t as continually demanding of your attention as the canoe slalom so the challenge was different in that respect too."

“We got to experience every sort of weather, it really was four seasons in one day but we all worked together really well and cheerfully. And the scenery, when we could see it, was stunning.”

Conrad added: “The weather threw everything at us! The conditions were extremely challenging, but wow, what a beautiful place to paddle. The scenery was absolutely stunning and I was really proud of our team who kept smiling throughout. It was a great event to take part in.”

There are plenty more Ecover Blue Mile events coming up over the summer, or you could even organise your own to raise funds for MCS. Find out more>>

Team Go Blue! taking on the Great Glen

Scottish "Marine Litter Strategy" - Sea Champions have their say!

The results are in from the recent public consultation on the draft Scottish 'Marine Litter Strategy'.

The findings show how much people value the marine environment - as most respondents said they want to see significant investment, and a centralised approach to tackling marine litter.
 Thanks to all you Scottish Sea Champions for taking part!

We'll be following up on this in the coming months to push for the best action and outcomes for our seas.
 
Read the Draft Marine Litter Strategy here>>

Could YOU go plastic free?

Sea Champion Charlotte Gee, from Bristol, gives us an account of her first week living single use plastic free:

"I've made some dramatic changes in the first week of the challenge. I’m making home-made bread, refilling detergent bottles, opting for plastic free fruit and veg, getting cheese from deli counters and self-weighing dried foods like herbs and spices, coffee, dried fruit and even pasta. I take containers with me, as well as reusable bags when I go shopping now.” 

“I’ve even managed to find unpackaged loo roll from ScoopAway and The Better Food Company!

Is it easier or harder than you thought?
"It is certainly challenging and everything I buy has to be inspected, meaning the amount of time to do a food shop is doubled. Also planning where to go and what I need to get has to be thought out in advance. Luckily in Bristol we have some amazing shops that are very conscious about their ecological footprint, so most things I can get my hands on. I suppose I am just giving up convenience for a healthier lifestyle."

Plastic-free toothpaste has been a particular challenge though, so I’m going to make it myself!”

What has inspired you to take on this challenge?
" My main inspiration is the oceans and how they are a life support system to not only marine life but also land based organisms and us, the humans. The intense overfishing, degradation and general disregard of the oceans and its inhabitancy has really hit home for me.

“If I can make people more aware about the issue of plastics in our oceans then hopefully together we can make a difference and turn the devastating effects around.”

Will you continue after Lent is over?
Carrying on after Lent will be a natural progression I feel. I have really only just begun and already I have notice how reliant we are as a society on plastic, buying products unnecessarily wrapped in one-use plastic is not something I want to carry on doing. So if I can avoid it I will.

There are lots of ways to take part in the Plastic Challenge, find out more>>

Sea Champion Charlotte Gee during her first week of the Plastic Challenge!

Blackness beach receives a thorough clean

Sea Champions Jackie Leeds, from Blackness, and Lesley Anderson, from Linlithgow cleared over 40 bags of litter as part of their Beachwatch beach clean and litter survey on Blackness Beach.

Lesley regularly sees the impacts of marine pollution, and as an avid diver, she see's the unnecessary damage being caused by litter to Scotland’s environment beneath the waves.

As a result, they've signed up as Sea Champions and organise Beachwatch beach cleans to help combat marine litter.

“The tide of litter washing up on our shores is not just unpleasant to look at, it can harm and even kill some of our best-loved marine wildlife" says Jackie.

Are you committed to tackling coastal pollution and highlighting marine issues? Then become a Beachwatch Organiser and arrange beach cleans and litter surveys on your favourite beach.

Do you have a bit more time on your hands? Then sign up as a Sea Champion today and become part of a network of ambassadors working for a clean coastline and healthy seas around the UK.

View more images from the clean-up here.

37 more Marine Conservation Zones to be considered

We are pleased to hear this afternoon’s (24th February 2014) announcement by Defra that a further 37 Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) are being considered for designation in 2015.

However, this is still a long way off what is needed for a full network of protection to reduce the considerable decline in marine biodiversity in English waters.

At a meeting of stakeholders in London to discuss the development of the UK’s Marine Protected Area network, Defra announced the list of sites but said the official consultation on the 2nd tranche of MCZs won’t begin until early 2015.

It’s good news that the Government has recognized the importance of providing more detail on which sites they are focusing on along with potential management measures. In the past, due to lack of information, there was some scaremongering and hype that the MCZs would prevent all activities when in most instances, low impact fishing and recreation will continue as before, though bottom towed gear will of course need managing.  

It’s good to hear which sites Government has prioritised for the 2nd tranche of MCZs, but this is still a long way off the full network.

Melissa Moore, Senior Policy Officer said “It’s good to hear which sites Government has prioritised for the 2nd tranche of MCZs, but this is still a long way off the full network. We hope this 2nd tranche, along with the promised 3rd tranche are designated as soon as possible to prevent further damage. As before, we will help gather more data on the inshore sites through our volunteer Seasearch divers this year, but Government must designate more offshore sites for broadscale habitats too.”

27 MCZs were designated in the first tranche in November 2013 - one hundred shy of the 127 originally recommended as necessary to deliver England’s contribution to an Ecologically Coherent Network in UK seas.

Melissa Moore says MCS is extremely concerned that, as a result of Government’s de-regulation agenda, a number of Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCAs) are considering voluntary management measures, rather than byelaws: “We are presently awaiting more detail on management measures for the first 27 sites, but voluntary management has consistently been proven not to work. However great the buy in, one or two fishermen, often fishers from outside the local area can ruin the efforts of the majority. Without legal redress the good work of many can be spoiled, often irrevocably, by a few. It is vital that these MCZs are not “paper parks”.

Once again, thank you Sea Champions! You alone collected over 7,000 pledges for a full network of MCZs, donated nearly 500 hours of your time inputting pledge data, wrote to your local newspapers, met with MPs, spread the word on social media and joined us on a freezing February morning to march on Westminster led by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

See the list of 37 provisional sites to be considered.

Beautiful jewel anenomes at "The Manacles" - a designated Marine Conservation Zone off the coast of Cornwall

Children ‘GO BLUE!’ with Ecover Schools Blue Mile!

Children across the nation will ‘GO BLUE!’ to celebrate the world’s oceans in the Ecover Schools Blue Mile – a nationwide event which is raising money for MCS.

Sea Champions up and down the country are encouraging their local schools to take part on Friday 6th June. 

For the day, schools will teach children about the sea, seashore and marine wildlife, supported by the Ecover Schools Blue Mile resources and ideas for cross-curriculum activities, either in the classroom or out in nature.

From painting and making sea creatures, to swimming and trying out a watersport, the activities are designed to educate young people about the importance of the oceans – and where possible, get them out into a natural environment.

This year’s Ecover Schools Blue Mile has a strong anti-pollution message. Schools are being encouraged to run a school-wide ban on plastic bags and bottles, provide plastic recycling points or be creative and decorate bags for life, our by getting out on to the beach for a beach clean-up.  

If schools can’t do it on World Oceans Day, they can they can still GO BLUE! at any time that suits.

Sue Ranger, who runs the MCS education programme says: "It’s really important that young children get to see how special our shores and seas are, as the future of our oceans is in their hands.”

For more ideas and to register for GO BLUE!, visit www.thebluemile.com

Making a splash at the Ecover Blue Mile schools event last summer! Get your local school signed up today.