Beach cleans: "It's not just about plastic"

With the UK in lockdown, getting out and about is difficult. Especially if you have a fondness for our beaches. At MCS, we are looking at ways that our amazing volunteers can still contribute to our work, whilst looking after their wellbeing at this time. Today we thought we'd share volunteer, Sarah's, account of a beach clean and why it's not just about the plastic you can find.

"It's not just about plastic".

These few words, spoken by the Marine Conservation Society’s passionate Public Engagement Officer, Alisdair, are the perfect way to summarise the morning we have just spent on Littlehampton’s windy beach. People of all ages and all walks of life, from groups of friends and colleagues to couples and families, have gathered here to volunteer as part of MCS’ Great British Beach Clean.

The sun is shining, and despite the strong breeze, it’s not too cold. The deep blue sea seems miles away, as the low tide reveals endless expanses of beige sand. If I look down, I can still see the footsteps of early morning dog walkers and the pawprints of their faithful companions. Every hundred meters or so, dark wooden groynes lead the eye back towards the blue horizon. Hungry seagulls are flying above looking for breakfast.

Towards the top of the beach, the sand gradually gives way to millions of grey, beige and white pebbles. This is where our group is now huddled, awaiting instructions.

Struggling slightly to be heard over the screeching seagulls and the gusts of wind, Littlehampton Great Beach Clean organiser, Kate Whitton, gives us a brief background of the charity and the overview of the day. Her enthusiasm is contagious and already, we can’t wait to get going.

First, we are to perform a survey. Across a 100-metre-long strip of beach, we will pick and record every bit of litter we find. Armed with picking sticks, clipboards and garden bags, we spread across the survey area. Some of us disappear towards the low tide, where the small waves break gently against the wet sand. Others choose the area near the promenade and search among the dry pebbles. All of us are hunched and focused. I pause and wonder what we must look like to passers-by.

In less than an hour, we collectively pick 2.5kgs of plastic, glass and other household items – when you remember how light plastic is, this is actually a huge amount, and given that the council cleaned the beach this very morning, even more alarming.

For the next hour, we spread further and pick as much litter as we possibly can. When the time comes to weigh the litter again, it has increased by a further 11kgs.

By cleaning this beach, we will help marine life: fish, crabs, sea snails, barnacles and mussels will thrive in a healthier sea. But we will also help our fellow human beings, who would eventually be eating plastic themselves, as it sadly makes its way up the food chain.

But as Alisdair so rightly said, it’s not just about the plastic…



It’s about enjoying a sunny morning on the beach!

I grew up in the south of France, but I have lived in the UK long enough now to understand weather pessimism. “I bet it’s going to rain!” we say whenever we are planning outdoors activities. But today, it’s a warm late-summer sun greeting us as we set off on our litter picking mission. Only a few white clouds blemish the bright blue sky.

A strong breeze cools the air, bringing with it the smell of seaweed and suddenly, I am taken back to the times when, as a child, I used to visit my British grandmother, only a few kilometres from here. She would take me for walks along Worthing’s promenade then buy me an ice cream – I always thought it was a strange choice of snack for what I thought were such cold days.

I came back years later with my first love. We would spend hours stacking pebbles, looking for crabs, throwing ricochets and spotting worm holes.

Walking on the sand with him, hands held tight and eyes blind with love, I guess I missed the fishing lines, beer cans, plastic sheets and broken glass which, even then, spoiled our precious shores. This time, I am intently looking for them, but this memory nonetheless leaves me with a feeling of nostalgic happiness.



It’s about the people you meet!

I joined this project on my own but as has often happened when volunteering solo in the past, I initially felt a slight apprehension. I picture myself picking litter on my own, while around me, groups of friends, colleagues and families laugh together; I have to remind myself that I was not here to make friends, but here to help make the world a better place. Of course, what I find each time I volunteer, is that I always end up meeting cool people alongside saving the planet and that these two things often go hand in hand.

Apprehension subsides soon enough, when people in marine blue shirts – the organisers – smile at me as they scurry around looking for bits and completing last-minute tasks. They’re now ready to welcome us and check us in. Within minutes, I am in conversation with them and other volunteers.

When the activity kicks in, it doesn’t take long for us all to mingle, swap picking techniques and compete about which one of us has found the weirdest or most unlikely item. We talk about our lives and jobs and agree on how lucky we are to be here, under the Friday morning sun, when most of our colleagues are stuck under the bright neon of an open plan office, listening to the hum of the air conditioning and the screech of the printer, instead of the wind and the seagulls.

It’s about learning!

If asked to list the items I would expect to find washing up on the shores of our precious beaches, plastic would have been my first answer. I wouldn’t have suggested half of the items we found this morning: exploded fireworks, children toys, sanitary products or medical devices. Of all the items we collected, the largest proportion came from our homes or our picnics, but the fishing and shipping industries are also highly responsible for damaging our coasts.

But it’s not just litter we find on the beach and as the morning progresses, the MCS team, always full of smiles and gratitude, share with us their knowledge about the creatures of the sea. We learn that mussels cleanse the sea by filtering microplastics and other pollutants, how barnacles adapt to increasingly difficult conditions, and how some algae fill little pockets with air in order to rise to the

surface of the sea to catch some sun rays for photosynthesis. I also find my first mermaid’s purse, from which a shark fish must once have emerged, a tiny but entirely formed creature, before escaping into the sea.

Of course, we also learn about the great work conducted everyday by the MCS, the importance of the survey we have just performed, and how volunteers can support even further!



It’s about doing something worthwhile!

I am aware that this small strip of beach we have cleared this morning is not going to stop all the pollution, reverse all the effects of global warming or indeed stop marine life getting entangled. But together, the 100 or so of us may have saved the lives of 100 fish, 100 mussels, 100 limpets, or 100 other creatures. We have also given each other strength and hope, feeding off each other’s enthusiasm and love for our planet. And together with all the other beach cleaners around the country – and hopefully around the world – we have had an even greater impact.

After having had so much fun, we will share our experiences with our colleagues and friends and hopefully inspire them to take part next year.


It’s sometimes easy to feel we are entering the post-apocalyptic world of a dystopian movie. The world is waking up to the climate crisis and that of plastic pollution. With this awakening can come worry and “doom and gloom” as they call it over here. I think this may cause paralysis. I strongly believe that we can do something about it and by making volunteering fun, we can unite to make the planet a better place for us and future generations.

Today, huge climate strikes are happening around the world. There is one in Brighton, which has just started. And after a relaxing time volunteering in the sun, I am off to join the fight.

So, a day at the beach or a day saving the planet? How about both?

If you would like to suggest ways for volunteers to continue being involved in our work whilst we are in lockdown, then please send your ideas to seachampions@mcsuk.org, adding "Volunteer Ideas" into the subject heading.

How I became a marine biologist

Charlotte Bolton, our Seasearch Co-ordinator, shares her journey to becoming a marine biologist...or, her "long and winding path to becoming an amateur squidge geek!" 

My early life in the depths of the East Midlands, about as far from the sea as you can get, wasn’t auspicious in terms of signalling where I was eventually to end up, but did instil in me a deep love of nature and collecting ‘treasures’ in matchboxes. I grew up on a farm in South Leicestershire and spent my days out and about enjoying the freedom of the countryside. We had traditional family holidays at the seaside and I clearly remember my fear of the lurking worms in the casts at Lepe on the Solent (some things haven’t changed; I’m still not at all keen on worms, eels and snakes and am guaranteed to use up my air very quickly diving a wreck with lurking congers…)

School wasn’t particularly high on my list of favourite things but I was a quietly rebellious bookish nerd even at a young age and found the arcane rules and regulations of lessons restrictive and boring. Fast-forward to secondary school, now slightly further south in Northamptonshire and the same applied – I can’t do three science ‘O’ levels? Really?! How ridiculous is that? Fortunately I had a supportive biology teacher who gave me the material to work on at home, though eventually I chose to read chemistry at university – it all came very easily to me, apart from the lab work which mostly resulted in a lot of broken test tubes! I simply couldn’t translate the clean and tidy world of the theory into the mess that were my experiments… King’s College London came to my rescue in offering a degree in Theoretical and Computational Chemistry – perfect! My final year undergrad project “Application of Lie Groups and Clifford Algebras to the Valence Bond Method” (no, it makes less sense to me now too!) led on to a PhD in radiation chemistry, looking at the theory of spin effects and lots of quantum mechanics – Professor Brian Cox without the stars, if you like. But it gave me the opportunity to travel and work in the United States and I spent two summers at the Radiation Laboratory of the University of Notre Dame, home of the famous Fighting Irish college football team.

I still wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do as a career but enjoyed exercising my brain (and people seemed prepared to pay me to do so…) and continued in research at the Medical Research Council Harwell Lab near Oxford, modelling the effects of radiation on biomolecules such as DNA. Three years later and I was forced to conclude that I was not really cut out for a research career so took a sideways move into IT support 100 miles further east in the Fens – the Unilever Centre for Molecular Science Informatics at the University of Cambridge to be precise. Here I was responsible for all aspects of IT in this newly-built research centre – well-remunerated but very stressful… Fortunately around this time I decided that I needed more water in my life, and learned to dive with Gozo Aqua Sports in Marsalforn, Gozo in 2002. Hindsight is wonderful – how I wished I’d done this years ago…! Diving and Gozo have been central to my life ever since.

A summer sabbatical of sailing in the north-east US hit another chord, but was ultimately a break from the reality of my parents both passing in quick succession and prompting a radical re-think on life…and a move to Southampton to indulge my love of the sea at last with a Masters in Ocean Sciences. All the jobs I had looked at either wanted a year of unpaid work in lieu of experience, or a Masters degree – no contest!

And so began a return to studenthood – a fabulous period not only for being based in the wonderful National Oceanography Centre but all the extra-curricular activities that took over all my spare time and more. A project based on habitat mapping in the West Solent introduced me to the ‘joys’ of GIS and the marine habitat classification, EUNIS biotope codes and broad-scale habitats, but even more importantly I was so fortunate to meet the people who have mentored me in my current incarnation as squidge geek, and continue as friends to this day – Ken Collins and Jenny Mallinson from the NOC, Lin Baldock (professional marine biologist and now Dorset/Hampshire Seasearch co-ordinator) and Mike Markey (now retired but then owner of the dive boat ‘Peveril Myth’ on which so many adventures took place). I think the finest hour of dedicated survey effort for Jenny and I was measuring Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) at Weston Point in the snow one December…

My overseas diving was somewhat curtailed by no longer being employed so I quickly learned to use a drysuit and got used to the cooler greener waters of home. I now do most of my diving in the UK and Seasearch has been an integral part of that transition. I can’t remember exactly where or when I first heard about the program (probably at the Dive Show in Birmingham?) What a brilliant idea! As the one buried in the ID books at the dive centre straight after every dive, this was just what I was looking for! Nice slow bimbles followed by geeky discussions about what you’d seen on the dive… This is the thing I really love about Seasearch trips (though I admit we do sometimes come across as being a bit anorak-y…perhaps it’s the bags of collected seaweed or pots of unidentified ‘turf’?!)

An advert for Data and Survey Officer at Dorset Wildlife Trust, with part of the job being to co-ordinate Dorset Seasearch activities, convinced me to make the move from Cambridge in 2012. Sometimes you just have to up sticks and make the leap of faith.

Now I live 30m from the sea and even the storms of February 2014 weren’t a deterrent – it’s fascinating watching the beach change shape with every tide and listening to the waves crash onto the shingle. We used to holiday at Chesil Cove in the 1980s, and in many ways Portland hasn’t changed very much at all.

And so to the present… I took over from Chris Wood as National Seasearch Co-ordinator in 2016 and now spend too much time with budget spreadsheets and grant proposals, but with the added bonus of travelling round to meet all the co-ordinators and find out what’s going on in their patch. The high points of the job are generally when I am either involved in Seasearch survey dives as a volunteer, with other equally keen/mad (depending on the conditions) volunteers, or delivering talks and training courses to enthuse new people about coming and joining us. I am proof that you don’t need to be a professional marine biologist, you just need enthusiasm for marine life, be keen to want to learn more about it and willing to give up your spare time to do so. The rewards come in the form of concrete, real-life conservation successes such as Marine Protected Areas or fishery byelaws based on your efforts (oh yeah, and the cake…!)

In 2018 we celebrated 30 years of Seasearch surveys under that name, which is a magnificent achievement and grand testimony to the dedication of all the people who’ve been involved in the program since then (and earlier – back to the 1970s and the Year of Underwater Conservation). I am exceedingly proud to be part of the ongoing Seasearch story…

If you want to find out more about Seasearch, please visit:- www.seasearch.org.uk/

Sea Champions from Plymouth University SCUBA Society complete the Seasearch Observer Course

Sea Champion Georgie talks about organising a Seasearch Observer Course for the SCUBA Society at Plymouth University. 

"Seasearch is a project for volunteer scuba divers and snorkellers who have an interest in what they're seeing underwater, want to learn more and want to help protect the marine environment around the coasts of Britain and Ireland. The main aim is to map out the various types of sea bed found in the near-shore zone around the whole of Britain and Ireland. In addition, we are recording what lives in each area, establishing the richest sites for marine life, the sites where there are problems and the sites which need protection." Seasearch

Two Sea Champion students at Plymouth University, along with five other members of the UPSU SCUBA Society completed the Seasearch Observer Course last month. The course comprised of a theory session hosted on campus on Saturday 16th November followed by two survey dives the next day on West Hoe Waterfront.

Sea Champion and SCUBA Society Chair, Georgie, wanted to organise an observer training course to provide an opportunity for members to develop their scientific diving skills. Becoming a Seasearch observer is the perfect way for divers to build up their marine identification, underwater photography, and surveying skills. Arguably the best part about the course is that it is open to recreational and commercial divers, which allows greater participation across programmes and experience levels. The course not only teaches students how to carry out survey work but also raises awareness about Seasearch’s impact on marine management.


Sea Champion Sally said:

“I found the Seasearch Observer course really useful for solidifying my knowledge of local identification of species. It was run professionally and organised amazingly well by the SCUBA committee. The teacher, Chris Webb, was wonderful and engaging throughout the whole theory day, and excellent at developing our written survey skills after our dives the following day. It was brilliant also having experienced Seasearch diver Chris Wood on the scene for the diving, making sure our ID and biotopes were correct. Lovely people to work with and I can't wait to get some more survey dives under my (weight) belt!”

Dan said:

“I thought it was beneficial in adding a more practical, marine conservation element to our diving as it was really well related to our course. It gives you more initiative to go diving and discover different sites around Plymouth, and feels rewarding that you're adding to conservation data set."

Mason said:

“Before the course, I dived for fun but now I have a new perspective of what I see when I dive.”

Greg said:

“I loved the course. I personally thought it was really helpful as I’m an ocean ex/surveying student so my species ID isn’t the best, but it improved it a lot.”


Georgie, Sea Champion and current SCUBA Society Chair

“It was a pleasure arranging the course for our members, many of which are keen to continue their journey as an observer and fill out forms on club dives. I’d like to thank Chris for all of her efforts and for making the course so enjoyable.”

After completing the observer course, students are required to complete three observer forms to become a qualified observer. Students at the University are now using club dives to complete their qualification. If you’d like to become an observer, Seasearch Devon Co-ordinator Chris Webb is running a course on the 2nd and 3rd of May 2020 at Fort Bovisand, Plymouth. Other course dates and locations are available and can be viewed at www.seasearch.org.uk/training.html. Observers are also
encouraged to join Seasearch dives, where they can fill out forms with local expert observers and co-ordinators. Seasearch also offers special interest courses and the Surveyor courses for observers keen to better their skills.

Georgie has since delivered a successful talk at The Waterfront, Plymouth, which was kindly hosted by Plymouth Sound Divers (BSAC Club). The talk was open to all and detailed the background of Seasearch, what is expected of volunteers, how the data provided by volunteers is used and finished off with the importance of recording at depths below 30m. She received positive feedback from those in the club who regularly dive below 30m, some of which were keen to become observers. She also introduced the ReMEDIES project to the club and told them about the Plymouth SAC and its seagrass habitats. No doubt she will keep them up-to-date with any dives happening in that area! Fantastic work Georgie!

Seashore citizen science for Duke of Edinburgh award

At MCS, we value all the contributions that volunteers give to our work. Citizen science projects are a great way to support the conservation of the marine environment and they help us to understand some of the impacts of climate change. Anneliese, one of our Sea Champions, has been taking part in three citizen science projects as part of her Duke of Edinburgh award. She tells us more about what she has been getting up to on our coastlines...

I am a second year Environmental Science student studying at The University of Plymouth. I am currently undertaking my Gold Duke of Edinburgh award and a requirement for this is to complete 18 months of volunteering for a minimum of an hour a week. My university was offering a volunteering fair where I met Jules Agate (Sea Champions Volunteer and Community Engagement Manager). Jules explained to me what volunteering positions were available for me to help with on a long-term scale. That’s when I heard about citizen science projects ‘The Big Seaweed Search’, ‘Marine Invaders’ and ‘CrabWatch’. The Big Seaweed Search involves undertaking shore surveys to record different types of seaweeds to help scientific research. These seaweeds range from species such as Serrated Wrack, Channelled Wrack and Coral Weed (just a few examples). 

 

Coral Weed found at Wembury Bay

Edible Crab found at Jennycliff

Serrated Wrack found at Mousehole Harbour

Channelled Wrack found in the Yealm

Identification guides for all species, as well as recording forms are all available online at http://bigseaweedsearch.org/. You also input your collected data and photos into an online database via the link too. Its super-simple once you know what you’re doing and a great excuse to get outside! There are some days of course when its unsafe to venture too close to the sea, meaning a lay day or two may be required, if there are health and safety risks. Obviously, tides can also affect the timings of your searches if your destination involves a rocky shore. That’s where the Marine Biological Association project, ‘CrabWatch’ comes in!

CrabWatch is a hunt for different species of crabs that can be surveyed at a rocky shore, off a jetty etc. This means that when the tide is too high to survey a rocky shore, CrabWatch can be adapted when the tide is high by crabbing from a pier or a harbour wall. Again, all ID guides and recording sheets are available here: www.mba.ac.uk/crabwatch/.

Additionally, ‘Marine Invaders’ is another scheme developed through the Capturing Our Coast partnership involving the Marine Conservation Society and Marine Biological Association, amongst others. Non-native species are searched for and assessed such as the Pacific Oyster compared to the European Oyster. The same method is used where-by you visit the rocky shore or sea wall etc with your ID guide and look out for the species on the recording form: www.mba.ac.uk/marineinvaders/.

All three of the above are super exciting and fun to get involved in. Not only do you help out a great cause by being a citizen scientist, but you also get to develop an array of skills ranging from species identification through to even noticing trends from shore to shore yourself (once you’ve had a go a few times). I would definitely recommend getting in touch with the Marine Conservation Society (who are super friendly and helpful) to get all the advice you need to become an MCS Sea Champion and citizen scientist on the shore!

A surprise win!

Every year, MCS have an Annual General Meeting (AGM) were we celebrate our achievements and the work of our supporters. One of the ways we do this is by awarding someone our Outstanding Achievement Award (previously known as the “Fish Award”). This year, the winner of this award was our Sea Champion, Andy. It came as a bit of a surprise...

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. 

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.

Thank you to all our volunteers!

2019 was a wonderful year with incredible support from our amazing volunteers! Here's what you achieved in 12 months...

Why should you volunteer?

We always love to hear from our volunteers and what they enjoy about their experiences with us. Our Sea Champion, Ben, has shared with us why he feels volunteering for Marine Conservation Society is important to him.

Volunteering isn't easy. I'm not referring to the act of giving up one's own time in order to contribute to important work, but instead to finding an organisation that thrives off the contributions of volunteer efforts. I'm glad to say that the Marine Conservation Society embraces such efforts.

At the start of 2019 I found myself working on a freelance basis for the first time which allowed me free time to do something I've wanted to do for many years - dive into the exciting adventure that is volunteering for charities and causes that really got me excited. 

So far I have worked on a voluntary basis for five charities. All charities are based within the environmental/animal welfare/conservation area, but not all are equal. Only with the Marine Conservation Society have I found a place to contribute my time and effort, and in return, become part of an important team that I feel is making a real impact on UK shores. For this I am very glad I have found, and met, some great people within MCS. 

A normal day with MCS consists of carrying out beach cleans on some of the most awesome coastlines in the world. I don't think I'm milking it…have you seen the British coastline on a sunny day?! I've cleaned beaches with local residents of coastal towns, seen companies excited about helping out, and been involved with supporting local schools (kids love the beach and upon finding litter on said beach are very enthusiastic beach cleaners which is very reassuring to witness!)

With the Marine Conservation Society’s beach cleans it's not only the fact that we are removing large amounts of litter off the beaches which makes the work so worthwhile, it is also about promoting education as an important part of the day on the beach. Don't stop reading - learning is cool! 

Beach clean days allow us to show the impacts of items we’re throwing away, even though their effect on our environment might not be immediately obvious. Did you know it takes a disposable nappy up to 500 years to decompose? I didn’t until recently and neither do many people who take part in beach clean days. This stuff is really important, because knowledge is power, and that's important when you are trying to save the world (or at least the oceans). Every second breath you take comes from the ocean, so protecting it and educating people about it is of the upmost importance. Facts like this are flying all over the place at MCS beach cleans, and it's surprising and alarming how some people aren't up-to-date with their biodegradable timescales (right?). 

I've found myself away on trips surveying whales, dolphins and porpoises in seas far away with charities wondering if these mammals will be here much longer if it wasn't for work being done by charities like MCS. Did you know the garbage patch in the North Pacific is nine times larger than the UK? MCS is actively reducing the chances of such garbage patches growing by getting rubbish off the beaches before it joins the ever-growing problem. 

MCS is carrying out important work that is ensuring a future for marine wildlife in our seas and on our shores. If you want to get involved, a good place to start would be the Great British Beach Clean taking place between 20th-23rd September country-wide. If you pop down to the SE coast you could meet me! Any time you can put in is always appreciated and MCS is always very happy to see you there. 

Check out the full list of beach cleans happening for the Great British Beach Clean and regular beach cleans in your area at: mcsuk.org/beachwatch/events.

Although Great British Beach Clean is fast approaching, there is still time to register to organise or participate in a beach clean. Visit mcsuk.org/beachwatch to find out more.