FYLDE BEACHCARE APRIL 2019 - MARCH 2020 SUMMARY - LOVEMYBEACH
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Fylde BeachCare
April 2019 - March 2020 Summary
It’s been another great year for LOVEmyBEACH along the Fylde Coast, with the launch of exciting new projects and
more beach cleans taking place than ever before! We continue to support 13 volunteer led beach clean groups
along the Fylde Coast and have seen a huge increase in the number of corporate groups taking part this year. Our
army of dedicated volunteers have been recognised with 2 awards—Blackpool Tower’s Local Heroes and BBC Radio
Lancashire Community Project of the Year (Highly Commended). We have recently launched a new campaign, called
WOOP! which encourages teenage girls to switch to sustainable alternatives to bathroom products and behaviours.
LOVEmyBEACH continues to be a locally prominent voice in the quest to protect our marine environment, improve
bathing water quality and encourage positive behaviours on the beach, at home and in the workplace. Thank you to
all our volunteers, supporters, funders and partner organisations for your ongoing support.
Take a look to find out more!
Volunteering in numbers
13 beach clean groups along the Fylde Coast
382 beach clean events organised this year. Including 27
additional beach cleans put on for corporate groups and
schools
898 new volunteers attending beach clean events,
compared to 772 last year
12,200 volunteer hours given to cleaning beaches
compared to 11,860 last year
9150 bags of litter removed from beaches and
estuaries, compared to 8,900 last year
Press and media in numbers
12 pieces in newspaper press, 2 TV interviews
and 6 pieces on local radio
Engagement in numbers
10 presentations given
15 events attended
2,700 followers on Fylde LOVEmyBEACH Twitter 1,600 new people engaged in person
1,700 followers on LOVEmyBEACH NW Twitter
2,400 followers on LOVEmyBEACH Facebook £114,410 saved through in kind contributions;
from partner organisations and volunteer hours
770 followers on LOVEmyBEACH Instagram
Fylde BeachCare
April 2019 - March 2020 Page 1
Volunteer led beach, coastal and estuary care groups
There are 13 volunteer groups
along the Fylde Coast and LOVE-
myBEACH is proud to work along-
side each group in various ways:
Freckleton EstuaryCare
Friends of the Estuary (Lytham)*
Fairhaven CoastalCare
St Annes BeachCare
St Annes North BeachCare
Blackpool Sea Life Centre*
Bispham CoastalCare
Cleveleys BeachCare
Rossall Beach Residents*
Rossall Point BeachCare
Fleetwood BeachCare
Harbour Village EstuaryCare
Knott End BeachCare*
And of course not forgetting the
wonderful lone beach cleaners!
Increasing self-sufficiency of volunteer groups:
*Independently run groups
LOVEmyBEACH continues to offer varying levels of
support to each group. There are now 7 groups which
Between April 2019 and March 2020: we provide equipment, insurance, risk assessments
and first aid training for. The other 6 groups receive
355 beach cleans led by volunteer groups less formal support from LOVEmyBEACH, but are
Over 9 ,000 bags of litter collected from Fylde equally valued volunteers.
coast This year, LOVEmyBEACH groups have begun keeping
Over 250 volunteers regularly engaged in beach more detailed records of the number of regular and
cleans new volunteers taking part. Also the amount of bags
collected and/or weight of litter collected. This is help-
Over 12,000 volunteer hours given ing to build a picture of the long term impact of our
With an economic value of over £105,000 volunteer’s efforts and has led to increased media op-
portunities.
Fylde BeachCare
April
March2019
2016- -March
March 2020
2017 Page
Page12
Community
Spotlight onengagement
our wonderful
success
volunteers
stories
… To every single volunteer involved!
Take a look at the incredible achievements of our volun-
teers since LOVEmyBEACH began in 2012….
Over 2000 beach cleans led by volunteer groups
Over 3000 individual volunteers have taken part in a beach clean
Over 40 ,000 bags of litter removed from Fylde coast
Over 54,000 volunteer hours given
With an economic value of over £470,000 Christmas 2019
All our volunteer groups celebrate
Just a few highlights of 2019… Christmas each year, with either
Freckleton EstuaryCare removed 655kg of litter during just 12 clean ups mince pies on the beach, a Christ-
mas dinner or a meal out. We must
Fairhaven CoastalCare removed 230 bags of litter in just 12 months say a big THANK YOU to Glasdon,
St Annes North BeachCare have removed 3 tonnes in just 2 years who made a generous donation
towards the celebrations.
St Annes BeachCare have saved Fylde council over £9,000 this year
900 new volunteers took part in a beach clean this year
We welcomed 4 new group leaders this year—Debbie, Janice, Ruth & Peter
Fylde BeachCare
April 2019 - March 2020 Page 3
Award winning volunteers
It’s not just us who think our LOVEmyBEACH volunteers are
amazing! The Fylde Coast volunteers won two awards this
year, in recognition for their incredible beach cleaning
efforts! They were collectively named as Local Heroes to
celebrate Blackpool Tower’s 125th Anniversary. A group of
40 volunteers from beach clean groups along the Fylde
Coast were treated to afternoon tea and an evening of
dancing inside the famous Tower Ballroom.
Within the same month LOVEmyBEACH was nominated as
“Community Project of the Year” by BBC Radio Lancashire.
After some filming and interviews on the beach, 3 group
leaders were invited to a formal awards ceremony in
Blackburn. It was a fantastic evening, with a lovely three
course meal and the opportunity to hear about so many
wonderful projects and inspirational individuals throughout
Lancashire.
The strangest part of the award ceremonies was seeing
everyone in their “normal” clothes, rather than in wellies
and waterproofs!
Although our volunteers don’t beach clean for the praise
or recognition and many don’t consider themselves
“heroes”, these awards go to show that their dedication
to helping the environment and keeping our coastlines
clean throughout the year is something to be extremely
proud of.
Fylde BeachCare
April 2019 - March 2020 Page 4
Corporate beach cleans & engaging new audiences
Over the years we have always welcomed corporate groups to our beach
“I just wanted to send a
cleans, as it is a brilliant opportunity for companies to give something quick note of thanks for to-
back to the local community, whilst staff have the chance for team build- day.
ing out of the office. Michael was a great fgroup
leader and everyone from
However, this year we have been inundated with requests and corporate Engie has commented on
beach cleans have been more popular than ever. In the last 12 months what a fantastic opportunity
we have received 62 enquiries! to get involved and help out
it has been.
To put this huge spike into context…LOVEmyBEACH had only delivered 34 He was a star today with his
corporate beach cleans between 2012 and 2019. local knowledge, stories and
tips for recycling.”
Enormous thanks go to our wonderful volunteer groups, who welcome
Feedback from Engie, who
these corporate teams onto their beach cleans. A special mention to
joined the St Annes North
the St Annes North BeachCare volunteers who have taken out 24
BeachCare group
corporate groups and 9 schools/youth groups over the last 12
months—wow!
Special mention goes to United Utilities, who reg-
ularly allow teams to take part in beach cleans.
This year we have welcomed 10 UU teams have
brought 224 staff along to a beach clean. UU staff
alone have removed 460kg of litter from the
Fylde Coast during 2019!
Since LOVEmyBEACH began in 2012, UU have tak-
en part in 76 beach cleans and over 1600 UU
staff have volunteered along the Fylde Coast.
The companies we have taken out We have also estab-
this year include: Matalan, Environ- lished a great part-
ment Agency, Direct Line, Ricoh, nership with the
Natwest, Engie, Talk Talk, Lloyds, Fylde Sand Dunes
Bosch, Lex Autolease... Project and after
beach cleaning some
The feedback is always overwhelm-
teams have joined
ingly positive and LOVEmyBEACH
the project’s rangers
even received generous donations
and taken part in
totalling over £1500+ from Shell,
practical conservation
Avison Young and Key KR Group to
activities on the
purchase more equipment for our
dunes, in the after-
volunteers.
noon.
Fylde BeachCare
April 2019 - March 2020 Page 5
Working to reduce single use plastics
Refill campaign
We have continued to support the national Refill
campaign this year—working to reduce single use
plastic bottles. There are now over 120 Refill stations
on the Fylde Coast, thanks to the continued support
of volunteers, local businesses and various organisa- Wipe Out Ocean Plastics!
tions joining forces with us to support the campaign.
Behind the scenes we have been working on a new
A highlight of the ReFILL campaign was the involve- campaign this year. WOOP! Is aimed at teenage girls/
ment of St Thomas’ CE Primary School, for the 2nd young women, with the objective of raising awareness
year running. After a beach clean and assembly
of the plastic content of products such as wet wipes
about LOVEmyBEACH, Year 4 spent the morning and period care products, and to highlight the impact
learning about the ReFILL campaign . In the after- they can have on the environment when they are
noon, we headed into St Annes to approach local flushed down the loo.
businesses and seek feedback from those who signed
up last year. This is the age when habitual behaviours are formed
and also young women are significant users of these
The afternoon was a huge success and the children
products. So it is hoped through the campaign we will
were brilliant ambassadors of LOVEmyBEACH, sign- encourage positive and responsible behavior to last a
ing up an extra 12 Refill stations in St Annes. lifetime.
We have designed new bathroom posters, stickers,
leaflets, a social media campaign and will be working
with Girl Guide groups to deliver interactive WOOP!
Sessions and raise awareness of how everyone can get
involved.
Stay tuned for the official launch in Spring 2020...
2 Minute Beach Clean Boards
In summer 2019, we were lucky enough to win £2000 from
Tesco, after shoppers voted us into 2nd place in the Tesco Bags
of Help scheme! The money will help us buy up to 4 more 2
Minute Beach Clean Boards. Stay tuned for more info on where
they’ll be along the Fylde Coast, during summer 2020.
Fylde BeachCare
April 2019 - March 2020 Page 6
Engaging schools and young people
This year, LMB has worked with 13 Fylde coast schools and
colleges, engaging over 900 students…
Assemblies at St Bedes High School and St Thomas &
Holy Family Primary Schools.
Interactive classroom sessions delivered to Baines En-
dowed and Hambleton Primary Schools.
24 different classes have taken part in a beach clean
this year! A class from Myerscough College took part in
a clean each week for a whole term and Highfield School
send a class of year 7’s every term.
Attended the North West Eco-Schools Conference, shar- Fresher’s Fairs
ing LMB messages to 14 different schools. This year we attended Myerscough College and
Blackpool & Fylde College Fresher’s Fairs to share our
messages with the students. Our display showcased
how to have a “plastic free night out” and even led
Since LOVEmyBEACH
to LOVEmyBEACH being chosen as one of Blackpool
began in 2012, we
& Fylde College’s charities of the year!
have delivered over
150 school ses-
sions and worked
with over 3800 stu-
dents...Inspiring the
next generation of
ocean lovers!
National Citizen Service
Emily worked with a group 16-18 year olds from The Chal-
lenge National Citizen Service, on a series of social action Throughout the year, we have also worked with
days during August. The group took part in a beach clean in young people alongside The Police Cadets, BFC
St Annes and hosted a “beach party”, with games and activi- Community Trust and UR Potential.
ties to educate families about litter on our beaches. In November, Emily sat on the panel at Blackpool
We also welcomed 5 other NCS groups out onto beach cleans Youth Summit—discussing all things environmen-
as part of their summer programme. tal with Blackpool Youth Council.
Fylde BeachCare
April 2019 - March 2020 Page 7
Raising awareness of LOVEmyBEACH
Attended 15 local events to raise awareness of the LOVEmyBEACH During 2019, LOVEmyBEACH has
campaign and spread our key messages, including: engaged with over 1600 peo-
Fylde Coastal Fair at Lytham 1940s weekend, engaging with over 300 ple at events & presentations.
people!
Since 2012, LMB has spoken to
Fairhaven Lake Open Day & Wyre Estuary Country Park Open Day,
over 7000 people!
displaying the LOVEmyBEACH promotional stand
Blackpool Pier 2 Pier Swim, over 100 open water swimmers put local
bathing water improvements to the test! Delivered 10 talks, including to:
Lytham Rotary Club
Friends of Ansdell Library
Lancashire’s Living Seas project
Launch event
Thank you to all our
wonderful volunteers, International Blue Flag Man-
who joined us at these ager’s Conference—Blackpool
events! hosted this international confer-
ence with guests from all over
the world!
Press and media
12 pieces in newspaper press, 2 TV
interviews and 6 pieces on local ra-
dio...
Covering our volunteer groups,
bathing water quality and plastic re-
duction campaigns!
World Ocean’s Day
To celebrate World Oceans Day on 8th June, Emily organised a mini Ocean
Festival on Blackpool Promenade, alongside Lancashire Wildlife Trust. Un-
fortunately, after month’s of preparation, the great British weather rained
the event off!
We were still able to join the Sea Life Centre on a WOD beach clean and
were even joined by Kiko Matthews on her bicycle tour of the UK coastline.
Fylde BeachCare
April 2019 - March 2020 Page 8
Engaging with key partners
We continue to work closely with all 3 Local Authori-
ties, who are project partners, on volunteer engage-
ment, practical beach clean matters, events, bathing
water improvements and spreading the messages of
Fylde BeachCare further.
As the funders of the project, we work alongside the
Environment Agency and United Utilities, collabora-
tively working towards bathing water quality improve-
ments and sharing key messages throughout the North
LOVEmyBEACH received significant in kind contri-
West. This year, we sent out 560+ information packs to
butions from volunteers and partner organisations.
local households with septic tanks, as part of the Call of
Taking into account the economic value of volunteer
Nature campaign.
hours and contributions in kind such as storage
space, meeting venues and donations by private We also work alongside various local environmental or-
businesses the total in kind contributions for 2019- ganisations such as Wyre Rivers Trust, Ribble Rivers
20 was £114,410 Trust, Lancashire Wildlife Trust and Park View 4U.
Special thanks goes to Blackpool Light Craft Club for
their continued support in allowing us to use their LOVEmyBEACH is hosted by Keep Britain Tidy and we
facilities. continue to support the charities work throughout the
year. Throughout April our beach clean groups took part
in the Great British Spring Clean, the country’s largest
We continue to support the Turning Tides board volunteer clean up event, and we look forward to its
and their vision to improve bathing water quali- return in September 2020.
ty, whilst boosting the use of our coast. In partic-
ular we supported the Active Coast programme
of summer events on the coastline to encourage
everybody to get out, get active and use the
coast to connect to nature or to boost their
health and wellbeing.
2019-20 has been another brilliant year for Fylde BeachCare and LOVEmyBEACH. The campaign con-
tinues to grow from strength to strength and we are looking forward to the future and opportunity to
build on our previous successes, relationships and watch our army of dedicated volunteers grow!
As we head into April 2020, we are unsure what the year ahead will bring. The LOVEmyBEACH campaign is al-
ready looking at ways of adapting in response to the current Coronavirus pandemic and the safety of our volun-
teers will always be our top priority. Lets hope that in 12 months time, we can all look back on these challenges
and know that they brought our communities closer. Until then, please stay safe and keep in touch.
Emily, Fylde BeachCare Officer
You can also read
