January MCS Volunteer Clean Up at Cramond Beach

Volunteer Clean Up at Cramond Beach

Today, The
Marine Conservation Society (MCS) releases the results of their latest beach
clean at Cramond. 46 volunteers braved the wintry weather to help pick up 59kg
of litter from the beach on Saturday 17th January. The next beach
clean at Cramond will be at
10am, Saturday 18th April. Contact
0131 226 2391 or [email protected] for further information.

As with most
beach cleans carried out at Cramond, the majority of items (55%) were plastic,
followed by 19% cloth pieces/clothing items, and 12% sanitary items. All the
information collected during the beach clean will be used by MCS to lobby
industry and government to help turn the tide on litter.

Anne Saunders,
MCS Scottish Projects Officer, comments "We all have a duty to take care of our
environment, including the marine environment. This includes not flushing
sanitary items down the toilet, and taking your litter home with you after you
have been at the beach. Even litter dropped in a city centre street can be
washed into storm drains and eventually may end up on our beaches, where it can
pose a very real threat to marine wildlife through entanglement or ingestion."

Anne
Saunders (MCS Scottish Projects Officer)

E-mail: [email protected]

Register online at: www.adoptabeach.org.uk

The Marine
Conservation Society (MCS)
is the UK charity
dedicated to the protection of our seas, shores and wildlife. MCS
campaigns for clean seas and beaches, sustainable fisheries,
protection of marine life and their habitats, and the sensitive use of our
marine resources.  Through education, community
involvement and collaboration, MCS raises awareness of the many threats that
face our seas and promotes individual, industry and government action to
protect the marine environment. MCS provides information and guidance on many
aspects of marine conservation and produces the annual Good Beach Guide (www.goodbeachguide.co.uk), the Good Fish Guide and www.fishonline.org on
sustainable seafood, as well as promoting public participation in volunteer
projects and surveys such as Beachwatch,
Adopt-a-Beach, Seasearch
and Basking
Shark Watch
.

MCS in Scotland

The MCS Scottish Projects Officer post, funded by Scottish
Natural Heritage
and The Scottish Government, started in May 2007 to
assist the ongoing MCS campaign for Seas fit for Scotland. The post involves development of exciting educational,
interpretative and web-based resources, and delivers talks and events focused
on southwest Scotland to raise awareness of marine
conservation; and promotes community involvement in MCS Basking Shark &
Turtle Watch, MCS Jellyfish surveys and the MCS Adopt-a-Beach project throughout
Scotland. The MCS Scottish Conservation Manager co-ordinates MCS
activities in Scotland, including marine conservation
policy and Seasearch.
MCS in Scotland is also chairing a joint campaign for
a Scottish Marine Bill with the environment at its heart, see www.savescottishseas.org for
details.

MCS Adopt-a-Beach

The
Marine Conservation Society's Adopt-a-Beach project was established in 1994 to
encourage individuals and groups to look after their local beach on a more
regular basis by carrying out seasonal litter surveys and beach clean-ups, to
identify local sources of litter and raise awareness of the problems caused by
litter. Further information can be found on the Adopt-a-Beach website: www.adoptabeach.org.uk