Resources

Resources launched to support Great British Beach Clean

Outdoor learning Resources and projects
Schools are urged to get behind the Great British Beach Clean, with a suite of new lesson resources available.

Run by the Marine Conservation Society, the event takes place from September 17 to 26 when pupils get hands-on with beach cleans or inland litter picks and learn about ocean pollution.

The charity has created a pack of lessons and resources for primary and secondary ages focusing on marine litter. Students can explore the plastics problem from their classroom or take part in their own beach, street, park or playground clean.

Last year, Marine Conservation Society volunteers found an average of 425 items of litter for every 100 metres of beach cleaned in the UK.

Inland, 70 per cent of litter picks taking place on streets and in parks found PPE litter from the pandemic, including masks, while 99 per cent found drinks containers.

This year, schools by the coast are asked to help gather data for the Marine Conservation Society using the charity’s survey form.

Inland, the charity’s Source to Sea Litter Quest illustrates how far pollution travels to make it to the ocean. The Litter Quest form pulls out some of the most common litter items on UK beaches and asks volunteers inland to see how many they can spot.

Impact: In 2020, Marine Conservation Society volunteers found an average of 425 items of litter for every 100 metres of beach cleaned in the UK (image: Kate Whitton)


Dr Laura Foster, head of clean seas at the charity, said: “All of the data our volunteers collect on beaches, streets and parks across the country helps to make a real difference. Data collected in previous years has helped us make the case for the 5p carrier bag charges across the UK. We’re now pushing for Deposit Return Schemes for all sizes and types of drinks containers. We hope that a deposit on these will mean that in the future, we won’t be seeing cans and bottles littered and data such as this helps us show just how significant this change can be.”