Strandliners’ volunteer activities range along the coast from the River Cuckmere in the west to Dungeness in the east; from Pett Level and Camber Sands on Rye Bay, up the River Rother to the very source of the river. We have also worked on the Ouse and Adur river catchments in West Sussex.
We survey for plastic pollution through identification, and record the data for organisations including the Marine Conservation Society, Break Free From Plastic, Fidra, Preventing Plastic Pollution (for the Rivers Trust) and Plasticblitz (for Thames21).
If we want to stop plastic pollution, we need to know what it is and where it comes from. By creating a data-rich picture of environmental pollution, we can begin to put the steps in place to stop it. Beach cleans are great for wildlife, for raising awareness, and for making people feel good, but will not solve the issue in the longer term.
To scale up the local effort, Strandliners launched a Community Action Team (CAT) programme, with support from the United Nations Climate & Oceans, to train volunteers as citizen scientists and team-lead volunteers in their local communities to join the fight. Our volunteers from the CAT course in 2023 were really enthusiastic: “It’s the data and research analysis – the science – that is fascinating and can be used to influence government and corporal behavioural change.”
Look out for CAT24 and a new citizen science project in the Rother catchment in the spring.
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All images Strandliners unless otherwise stated.