Welcome to the June 2023 newsletter
Contents
Dates – PlasticBlitz on the River Rother, Dungeness
Environmental issues in the news – global plastics treaty, solar panels, recyclingClimate change volunteering – be the change & help the lobby for action
Youth participation – new group for a youth voice
The Fulmar (part of membership package) contains more info on these articles and other international, regional and local news.
Membership
A reminder to renew your 2023 membership if you have not already done so. We cannot collect payments by direct debit, so renewal is on an annual basis (1st January) via our website please. £10 for existing members or £12 if are joining us for the first time.
Thank you to all our members for supporting Strandliners: we could not do it without you.
Andy Dinsdale
Past Events
Spring Water Festival, Eastbourne
Strandliners took part in several events, including the Eco Fair, creative events such as Studio at the Lake and Studio on the Beach, two Big Seaweed Searches for the Natural History Museum & Marine Conservation Society and the BluePlanet@Eastbourne Conference.
News and Views
Environmental issues in the news
Global plastics treaty – the second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee took place in Paris from 29th May to 2nd June. Delegates debated the rules of the negotiation process, identified options they would like to see in a ‘zero draft’ and agreed on how to make progress between now and the next session in November.
Solar panels – while they may be may play a crucial role in reducing carbon emissions, they have a limited lifespan, and billions will need to be disposed of and replaced. Read more here.
Toxins in plastic – the toxic chemicals found in plastic mean that recycling may not be the answer. Read more here.
Be the change!
Can you help lobby for climate change action by giving some of your time to a Strandliners event? We are not asking you to do anything drastic, but are raising awareness of the link between plastic pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss. You could join a survey, help with an admin task, analyse data, upload surveys, help with social media marketing and much more. if you have a few spare hours, an idea or skills you could share, we would love to hear from you.
Young Strandliners
Strandliners is developing a ‘Young Strandliners’ group for 10- to 18-year-olds. Meeting once a month, we aim to create a team who are passionate about our environment, willing to learn new skills and take the challenge to our decision makers. Please contact us if you have children who would be interested in taking part.
Future Events
PlasticBlitz surveys – River Rother
This event, originally set up by Thames 21, has gone nationwide for the first time. Like a bioblitz, where people find and identify as many species as possible in a given time, a Plasticblitz is a community event where we identify and record all the plastic ‘species’ we find (see our Twitter page, @StrandlinersCIC). The surveys will follow the Preventing Plastic Protocol we have used before and data uploaded to the Plasticblitz portal to continue building a picture of the ‘litter DNA’ in the catchment.
Saturday 10 June – Scots Float – (please register to take part)
Sunday 11 June – Monk Bretton Bridge (please register to take part)
Dungeness beach survey Saturday 17 June – 9.30 am to 1.30 pm
This is a challenging, but fascinating event, involving a long walk over shingle, and is not suitable for young children or anyone with mobility issues. If you are up for a challenge, please register to take part.
Social Media Presence
We appreciate your support through subscribing to this newsletter, please share with friends and family.
Another way to help Strandliners reach a greater audience is through our social media presence. We are notoriously not amazing at keeping up with letting everyone know what we do but if all subscribers were able to support through “liking”, “sharing” and/or reposting it would really helpful!
Facebook – Strandliners
Instagram – Strandliners
Twitter – @StrandlinersCIC
Rother Community Lottery
Supporting Strandliners whilst having the chance to win yourself.
It all helps keeping Strandliners going.
Membership
Benefits of becoming a member include a quarterly online magazine, The Fulmar, a monthly raffle to win a sea bean, and opportunities to join beach, marine & citizen science workshops.