Community Beach Cleaning Group
A New Beach Cleaning Group in Brean
Emily Wordley, the new Project Officer for the Litter Free Coast and Sea Somerset Project, explains plans for the year and the importance of a new beach cleaning group in Brean.
Litter Free Coast and Sea Somerset (LFCSS) project is a community-led campaign designed to reduce marine and beach litter along the Severn Estuary coastline, by encouraging local communities to consider their own impacts on water quality and marine litter. Emily’s role is to develop and deliver behaviour change and engagement campaigns for local schools, businesses and the community in Somerset.
Not only can marine litter can cause significant problems for wildlife and aquatic systems, it can severely affect the classification of bathing water quality. In November 2015, new European standards for bathing water came into force. Under these new standards, Burnham-on-Sea was classified as having ‘poor’ bathing water, meaning the level of harmful bacteria in the water can be high, with advice not to swim. Litter Free Coast & Sea Somerset aims to ensure our bathing waters are even cleaner and local beaches meet the standards.
Whilst tackling this large issue can seem like an overwhelming challenge, individual behaviour can have a significant impact on the amount of litter entering our oceans. Litter Free Coast and Sea have successfully established two dedicated beach clean groups in Burnham-on-Sea and Berrow, ‘Friends of Burnham Beach’ and ‘Friends of Berrow Beach’. Both groups carry out monthly beach cleans, with up to 60 volunteers at each event! Building on community interest and to address a gap in activity between Burnham-on-Sea and Brean Down, Litter Free Coast and Sea Somerset are now looking to establish a new beach cleaning group in Brean.
Interested in becoming a volunteer for the new Brean beach clean group?
If you would like to make a difference to your local environment, want to meet new like-minded people or simply would like an excuse to get outdoors, please get in touch with Emily Wordley to find out more about how you can become involved: litterfreesomerset@gmail.com
Find out more about other projects and campaigns run by Litter Free Coast and Sea Somerset:
Website: www.litterfreecoastandsea.co.uk/somerset
Twitter: @LFCSSomerset
Facebook: Litter Free Coast & Sea Somerset