Thanks again to my team! Just a bit sad that we couldn’t invite everyone this year. Here are some of the nasties we found washed up and added to our beachwatch survey #17 (writes KAREN BATES).
We found dozens of metal bands and wires from industrial packaging, a syringe, small fragments of disastrous polystyrene which resemble seafood for sea creatures and #nurdles!
I went back to do a #NurdleHunt as we saw dozens during our litter survey.
I counted 331 in under an hour. There was some huge litter such as a gas canister and a tyre, but we mostly recorded #plastic fragments under 2.5cm which are highly dodgy for #marinelife.
This year marks two decades of the Marine Conservation Society surveying and cleaning Edinburgh’s Cramond beach, with volunteers showing up year after year to support the charity’s efforts.
The Marine Conservation Society’s annual Great British Beach Clean is a crucial event that helps the charity keep track of plastic pollution, monitor the condition of coastal areas, and campaign for important policy changes. The work done by volunteers along Cramond beach, and the data collected, has contributed to a number of successful campaigns and policy changes to stop litter at source.
This year, the Marine Conservation Society needs more people than ever to organise their own small, private and local beach cleans. The Great British Beach Clean starts this week, running from 18th – 25th of September.
Cllr Lesley Macinnes, Environment Convener, said: “Our waste teams are all working really hard throughout Edinburgh to keep the city clean so we really appreciate seeing local people getting involved in these events and taking ownership of and responsibility for the environment they live in.
“Our staff will be supporting the event and making sure they have the equipment they need to be safe and we’ll dispose of the waste collected. We’ve noticed people have been dropping masks and gloves in the street as well as other litter, which can end up on our beautiful beaches, so please everyone, bin your litter or take it home with you.”
Max Coleman, Chair of Edinburgh Biodiversity Partnership: “Edinburgh’s shoreline provides a wonderful opportunity for contact with nature. As the problems of marine litter are now widely understood I hope record numbers of people will get involved with the Great British Beach Clean this September.”
Cramond’s coastal area is vulnerable to a build-up of plastic waste and debris given its position along the coastal causeway to Cramond Island. Commonly collected items have included thousands of wet wipes, plastic bottles, disposable barbecues and dog waste bags.
Over the last 20 years of beach cleaning and surveying at Cramond, over 1,200 dedicated volunteers have removed 197 bags of litter weighing over 950kg. This year, with the events running for a full week, even more litter can be collected and surveyed.
Calum Duncan, Head of Conservation Scotland at the Marine Conservation Society:“Whilst the ongoing tide of rubbish and plastic could be demoralising, over the years there has been a huge swell in public support for our projects. To see the public pushing for, and enthusiastic about, transformative change has instead been inspiring and motivating.
“As a result of the data collected by our incredible volunteers we have helped secure Scotland’s carrier bag charge, a ban on plastic-stemmed cotton buds, Scotland’s Marine Litter Strategy and the Deposit Return Scheme for cans and bottles due in 2022.”
To become a Beachwatch Organiser please visit the website here.
Find information on the Source to Sea Litter Quest here.
For more information or to contact the Marine Conservation Society please visit www.mcsuk.org
PoliceScotland works extremely closely with HM Coastguard to jointly keep people safe on our coastline and beaches.
Ssee some safety tips (below) from our Coastguard colleagues on how to keep safe this summer:
Check the weather forecast & tide times Read local hazard signs Leave inflatables at home – as they can very easily drift out to sea Keep a close eye on your family Have a fully charged mobile phone Have a meeting place if you get separated
Lastly – consider taking a photo of your family or group at the start of your seaside day. Should a family member go missing, you will have an up-to-date photo including an accurate clothing description.
In a coastal emergency, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and Her Majesty’s (HM) Coastguard are urging every parent to be aware of the potential dangers of rip currents to be beach safe.
Be beach safe this summer
On Sunday 26 July, seven people, including five teenagers were lucky to be rescued after being caught in a strong, fast moving current in Wales.
And at the start of the month, RNLI lifeguards leapt to the rescue of 12 unsuspecting bathers who were swept off their feet by a rip current into rough seas at a beach in Cornwall.
Last year, RNLI lifeguards dealt with more than 1,500 incidents involving rip currents, saving the lives of 95 people caught in them.
Gareth Morrison, RNLI Head of Water Safety, said: ‘Our coastline is a fantastic place to spend time together as a family but there are also plenty of potential dangers, especially for those who aren’t fully aware of their surroundings.
‘The main one is rip currents which cause most incidents in the water that RNLI lifeguards deal within the UK.’
‘We are seeing a spike in incidents this summer involving these potentially deadly currents, which move even faster than an Olympic swimmer and can quickly drag people into deep water a long way from the shore.
‘It’s important that anybody venturing in or near the sea knows, not just what rip currents are, but how to react if they are caught in one or see someone else in trouble.
‘They are difficult to spot and even the most experienced and strongest swimmers can find themselves caught out so it’s important where possible to use beaches that have lifeguards patrolling on them.’
If you find yourself caught in a rip current, try to remember the following key safety advice:
Don’t try to swim against it, you will quickly get exhausted.
If you can stand, wade don’t swim.
If you can, swim parallel to the shore until free of the rip and then head for shore.
If you can’t swim – FLOAT to live by leaning back in the water, extending your arms and legs, and resisting the urge to thrash around to gain control of your breathing.
Always raise your hand and shout for help.
If you see anyone else in trouble, alert the lifeguards or call 999 or 112 and ask for the coastguard.
Off-duty Aberdovey lifeboat crew member Arwel Jones was one of those who sprang into action on Sunday afternoon after his wife spotted two teenagers struggling in the water.
Together with some lifeguard friends and former lifeboat crew who happened to be wind and kitesurfing, they pulled seven people to safety.
‘They were just so lucky the right people happened to be in the right place at the right time,’ said Arwel. ‘There was even a doctor on the beach by chance, when we got them out of the water.
‘It’s a scary thought but a few seconds here or there and it could have been a very different outcome.’
While rip currents are not the only danger at the coast with tidal cut-offs and inflatables also the cause of many emergency calls, they make up the majority of incidents in the water for RNLI lifeguards and are a major cause of accidental drowning across the world.
The RNLI and Coastguard strongly advise against taking inflatables to the beach and urge people to be aware of the tide times and local hazards to avoid getting into trouble.
Director of HM Coastguard Claire Hughes said: ‘We’ve seen so many times how easy it is to get caught out by the sea.
‘That is why it is important to swim or bodyboard on lifeguarded beaches, stay within your depth, swim parallel to the shore and keep a close eye on friends and family at the beach and in the water.
‘Make sure you are always contactable at the coast by carrying a fully-charged mobile phone and if you get into trouble or see someone else in trouble, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.’
Scottish Labour and Co-operative party candidate for Edinburgh North and Leith, Gordon Munro, launched his campaign at The Prentice Centre inGranton Mains Avenue yesterday.
Date & time: Sunday, 22 September 2019 – 11:30am – 2:00pm
Meeting location: Granton Harbour breakwater under the flags
Additional information:
For the third year in a row, we’re joining the national Marine Conservation Society for their ‘Great British Beach Clean’. We’re also celebrating the things we’ve tried to do over the year, and that we want to make sure happen.
The Wild Ones and Wardie Bay Beachwatch have applied to SEPA for Bathing Water Quality Monitoring at Wardie Bay. We want the sea to be healthy to swim in, and our environment to be as protected as it can be.
We are working with landowners and the Angling Megastore to provide fishing litter and general waste bins and signage on the Eastern Breakwater, to make sure our places are properly looked after, and to ask people to help sustain it.
Wardie Bay Beachwatch represents the hopes we have for our wider environment. If we all act on a local level and take that with us into whatever we do, and ask others to do the same, we can help.
Please join us!
• • • − − − • • •
Sunday 22 September, 11:30 – 14:00
Please come and encourage friends and family to come along too.
Gloves and litter picking equipment are provided.
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Please also visit our twitter page @wardiebaybeach for regular tweets or find the event on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/483972618831239/
For the third year in a row, we’re joining the national Marine Conservation Society for their ‘Great British Beach Clean’. We’re also celebrating the things we’ve tried to do over the year, and that we want to make sure happen (writes KAREN BATES).
The Wild Ones and Wardie Bay Beachwatch have applied to Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) for Bathing Water Quality Monitoring at Wardie Bay. We want the sea to be healthy to swim in, and our environment to be as protected as it can be.
We are working with landowners and the Edinburgh Angling Centre to provide fishing litter and general waste bins and signage on the Eastern Breakwater, to make sure our places are properly looked after, and to ask people to help sustain it.
Wardie Bay Beachwatch represents the hopes we have for our wider environment. If we all act on a local level and take that with us into whatever we do, and ask others to do the same, we can help.
