Adopt a Beach
Results from the MCS Beachwatch litter surveys indicate that, over the past 10 years, beach litter has increased by 80%.
Impacts on wildlife: Marine litter has a major impact on wildlife through entanglement and ingestion. It is estimated that, globally, over a million birds and 100,000 marine mammals and turtles die every year from entanglement, or ingestion of plastics (Laist 1997).
Impacts on marine ecosystems: Marine ecosystems are affected by litter pollution at every level - from tiny microscopic organisms through to the very largest animals such as whales and turtles. Even the most remote and uninhabited sites are affected by litter carried by the wind and ocean currents. This tide of litter appears to be on the increase, as suggested by the Beachwatch and Adopt-a-Beach surveys. The litter found in these surveys is likely to be just the "tip of the iceberg" - no-one knows how much litter is really out there and what effects it is having on our blue planet.
The human cost of litter: Litter not only affects the organisms that live in the sea, but everyone of us. Litter can be a health hazard, a deterrent to tourism, and have economic impacts that includes the fouling of fishing gear and boat propeller entanglement. It also costs UK taxpayers and beach managers many millions of pounds annually in clean-up and disposal.
The amount of refuse on UK beaches is astronomical and the sources are invariable;
I've even had personal experience of a walker throwing an empty plastic water bottle and banana skin over the cliff face onto the beach below at Bat's Head on the Jurassic Coast. Unbelievable - and that's form a walker!! The following spaces will be filled with photos of the refuse on the beaches we sponsor and the results we get in beach clearing this summer alone. So watch this space.
NOMAD Sea Kayaking's Contribution: Nomad conducts beach cleans on all it's trips to the following beaches;
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St. Osyth, Essex
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Stone Point, Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex
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Worbarrow Bay, Dorset Jurassic Coast
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Bat's Hole Beach, Dorset Jurassic Coast
Our next scheduled beach cleans are;
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Stone Point, Walton-on-the-Naze - 27th September 2008
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St. Osyth, near Brightlingsea, Essex - 4th October 2008
All collected refuse from the above beach cleans will be surveyed, recorded and the data forwarded to the Marine Conservation Society for their records and lobbying efforts.
Informal beach clean's will take place each month at each of our landing sites on all of our Dorset Jurassic Coast trips beginning in May 2008 and ending in September 2008.
To find out how you can get involved and do your bit for the environment, simply telephone
