Individuals, families, groups of friends and community groups are called upon to help clean the whole coast from Edinburgh to Berwick upon Tweed!
Lil and Caledonian Horticulture need your help! They aim to clean as much of the shoreline as possible along the entire stretch and need all hands on deck to cover this roughly 80-mile stretch.
Lil and Caledonian Horticulture are delighted to support and facilitate this ambitious event over the weekend of Saturday, June 5th – World Environment Day to Tuesday, June 8th – World Oceans Day.
Wildlife in our seas and on our shores is under threat from litter with hundreds of creatures accidentally eating or becoming entangled in items like plastic bags and fishing line.
As well as keeping our coast beautiful, we will gather up all the litter from all the cleans to be weighed and sorted. This will help show the scale of the problem and the worst offenders – the most frequently found items. This data is hugely important as it helps track the common items we find on our beaches back to source, so we can push for change.
The scale of the project also aims to generate media coverage and make a splash for World Oceans Day – Lil and Caledonian Horticulture want to highlight the issues facing us all and our environment – that plastic rubbish breaks down and ends up in your fish supper! Your involvement will really make a difference.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
If you are a group could you help coordinate a stretch of coast?
Or your own beach clean?
Or are you already planning something and keen to join in the cumulative weighing up and media coverage?
Lil and Caledonian Horticulture would LOVE for you to be involved in whatever way works for you.
- Do you have a community you can share this with? Please share on social media, in your newsletter or just forward this info to anyone you think might be interested – groups, organisations or individuals.
- Join the BIG Beach Clean Facebook Group to keep up to date with all the info, if you’re not on Facebook please email kate@frmrecycling.co.uk for more information.
- Post your clean up events in the group so others can see what’s going on. Make your own fb events and tag Lil so we can help spread the word and link them.
- If you have a location in mind, please drop a pin in the interactive Ether map. No login required. Just pop an orange pin on the central point of the area your group(s) can cover. Add some details in the description like the group name, what area you think your group can manage, note any equipment you can provide, and contact details you’re happy to share publicly for others to join you. A link to your FB event here would be helpful if you have one.
- Waste collection. Caledonian Horticulture can provide small plastic sacks (around 40L) for volunteers to use on the beaches. You will also need sharps boxes for hazardous material. If you need support with health and safety for your beach clean info will be shared via the Facebook page. If you have safety briefings already for your group you can also share them there so others have examples to follow.
- Caledonian Horticulture will set up collection points (locations to be confirmed) with builders bags (around 850L) that can be filled with the smaller bags. These will need volunteers to man them.Kate will be in touch to decide the best locations. CH will collect the bags again on Tuesday 8th.
- Alternatively you can deliver your bags to the East Fenton Composting Site – EH39 5AH. Caledonian Horticulture would also welcome volunteers to help with sorting and weighing the waste. Details TBC so watch the Facebook Group if you’re interested.
- Please ensure you and your group adhere to the current Scottish Government Covid guidance at the time.
- Please PROMOTE your involvement. Send emails, facebook events, carrier pigeons, get as many folk along as you can. We’ll share tags # via the Facebook group 🙂
Individuals and small family/friend groups are also invited to take part so communicating who is doing what and where in these socially distanced times is really important. The more we can link volunteers with your groups the better – hopefully new folk will stay with you to help your future work too.
LOOK OUT FOR SEA MONSTERS
Lil and Caledonian Horticulture are inviting everyone to create a sea monster with the rubbish they find – they can be imaginary, depict the problems facing the ocean, just fun or a real creature. There will be videos to share to help inspire creativity. There will be hashtags to share these creations
They are also working with artists to create Marine Litter Art for display at Fringe by the Sea to raise awareness of the problems, the main offenders and help drive changes to reduce coastal rubbish.
WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING?
Throughout the weekend Lil and Caledonian Horticulture will be celebrating all the organisations and individuals that work so hard to keep our beaches and coastline clean and free from litter. Do blow your own trumpets in your local press and Lil and Caledonian Horticulture will blow them for you via their channels too!
The Scottish Seabird Centre is holding a Marine Fest from 5th to 13th June. Lil is running a Waste Workshop looking at household waste and how you might reduce it as part of the event.
It is World Refill Day on 16th June so there is a great opportunity to highlight the single use catering items – plastic bottles, forks, coffee cups & lids, sandwich wrappers etc. The use of these has escalated massively during Covid (for good reason) but as we come out of the other side it’s a good time to remind everyone to take their bottle/cup etc.
If you want to get in touch you can reach LIL on 07765 126700 or email hello@dolilthings.org or email Kate at kate@frmrecycling.co.uk