Our campaigns
In addition to organising beach clean-ups, we also run local campaigns trying to encourage people to join our mission to maintain a safe and clean beach and not to litter not only on and around the beach, but also in the streets. We think it is important for people to realise that litter dropped on the streets will very likely end up on the beach, having been carried away by rainwater into storm drains. To date, we have run “Don’t Litter Whilst Driving” and “Leave Only Footprints” campaigns. This year we are launching a “The Sea Starts Here” campaign and are hoping to develop a “Respect Crosby Beach” seasonal bins campaign in the future.
Don’t Litter Whilst Driving campaign
In 2019, a collaboration with Sefton Council Traffic Signal Team resulted in all their roadside Variable Message Signs (VMS) showing a message once an hour for 15 minutes urging motorists not to throw litter out of cars. A great way to remind motorists about the issue and reduce plastic entering rain drains and reaching the sea. However, this campaign has been put on hold during the pandemic (while government guidance is being displayed) and hopefully will resume later this year.
Leave Only Footprints campaign
Inspired by the Facebook group “Leave nothing but your foot print on the beach”, who kindly donated the plywood cut outs, we put up our first signs in summer 2020. Look out for the signs when you visit the Crosby and Waterloo seafront. You should spot them on the wooden fencing lining the paths leading to the beach. We have had many positive comments about the signs and are so pleased that they are already attracting a lot of attention.
Huge thanks to some of our younger members of the community from St Michael’s College in Crosby who have helped with the campaign by making some new signs for display. A successful BHP funding bid helped pay for marine grade plywood and varnish to make the signs and the students from St Michaels cut them, designed their own personal messages and wood burned them. These signs will soon be proudly displayed along the Promenade on Crosby Beach. This is a great example of young people leading the way!
The Sea Starts Here campaign
The connection between dropped litter on the streets and the litter washed up on our beaches is not always thought about in the business of our daily life. It is so easy to drop a small wrapper from a chocolate bar or other snack without realising the consequences to both the environment and wildlife. A lot of plastic debris on beaches are sweet/snack wrappers and drinking straws. Most of it has travelled to the beach by storm drains after being carried away by rain water. We want people to “stop and think” and make a connection between dropped litter on the streets and the state of our beaches.
The successful BHP’s funding bid we received last year has also allowed us to begin this new and exciting campaign. We have purchased stencils, chalk paint and environmentally friendly water-based Rainworks solution and we are hitting pavements around Mariners Road (Crosby), and soon further afield, marking paving slabs with the message “The Sea Starts Here. Don’t Litter”. Rainworks solution enables us to make signs that come to life after rainfall.
Respect Crosby Beach campaign
Every summer Crosby Beach promenade is left in a dire state with piles of rubbish left behind by beach-goers. Last year, our displayed messages and banners displayed by Sefton Council asking for the rubbish to be taken back
home and recycled had little effect this year and it was left to those wonderful volunteers who went out to do beach clean-ups (often daily) to try and combat the devastating amount of rubbish left behind. We also had to regularly bag loose rubbish piled up by the existing bins, making it ready and easy for the Council staff to collect and take off site.
We are currently on a mission to secure funding to install seasonal extra waste bins during summer. With everyone’s help this should keep the promenade and the beach clear of rubbish. We hope to involve schools/colleges in Sefton and have them decorate pre-made bins with sea-themed paintings also bearing anti-litter messages, similar to the one in the picture to the right (source Google).
Together we can do this!
Other local campaigns
“That’s Our Home” – by local author Jude Lennon
Beautifully illustrated and written, this book is a terrific encouragement to children (and adults) to keep beaches clean and be mindful about the harm that litter does to our marine wildlife.
Jude was hoping to come to our April beach clean in 2020 to read from the book but we’ve had to cancel because of the Coronavirus outbreak. However, there is a video of Jude reading from the book which you can access from her Facebook page “JudeLennonAuthor”.
National Campaigns
Nationally, good things are starting to happen. Micro beads were banned July 2018 and the government has pledged to ban plastic straws, cotton buds and plastic stirrers from 2020. Keep up the pressure to make sure it happens! 40 of our biggest companies have pledged to reduce their use of plastic and Iceland have already started by replacing all their own plastic packaging.
There are a number of marine organisations which campaign nationally and are well worth supporting. Most of the ones here came to our marine awareness event. Do check out their websites, see what they are doing, sign their petitions and find out more about marine pollution.