Southsea Beachwatch‘s beach clean is back with the March Southsea beach clean tomorrow morning (Saturday 4th) from 10am to 12pm, meet outside the Coffee Cup on Eastney Esplanade. Gloves, pickers and bags are all provided and all are welcome (this includes children and dogs). The aim is to remove anything manmade from the beach – e.g. plastics, metals, wood, glass, textiles, no matter how small. You’ll find the most rubbish along the high tide mark, so it’s a good place to start. Clean for as long as you like, just make sure you return your full bags to the organisers by 12. There will also be some seashore guides for those that would like one and Chris from Bird Aware Solent (Bird Aware Solent) will be joining in too.

As well as cleaning up keep an eye out for two things in particular:

Treasure = mermaid’s purses (shark and ray egg cases)
Trouble = nurdles, little plastic pellets washed up on sandy parts of the beach plus balloons.

Balloons released in to the sky when finally landed can injure and kill wildlife. If swallowed, balloons can block an animal’s gut and cause it to starve. Animals can become entangled in balloon ribbons and string, restricting their movement and their ability to feed.

Please keep these trouble items separate and hand these in to Lara when you’ve finished cleaning. If you find an SHARP GLASS/NEEDLES – do not put these in your bag. Ask the organisers for the sharps box. Leave driftwood and seaweed as these help to feed coastal plants and make the beach more stable.

Find out more details on Facebook HERE.