Surfers Against Sewage

Surfers Against Sewage are excited to bring you the Million Mile Clean; a new campaign which connects our beach cleaning action throughout the year, and targets 100,000 volunteers walking 10 miles whilst cleaning the places they love. After more than a year of isolation, social distancing and reduced physical activity, the Million Mile Clean reconnects communities with the environment, whilst promoting the benefits of volunteering for both mental health and physical wellbeing. Join us for the biggest, most active clean up campaign ever! Find out more here: https://www.sas.org.uk/plastic-pollution/million-mile-clean/

HOW DO I GET INVOLVED?

We want you to walk, paddle or swim 10 miles throughout the year whilst picking up rubbish. Beach, street, river or mountain, you can clean anywhere, anytime, just remember to track your distance, submit your results, and use the hashtags #MillionMileClean when posting on social media. You can either run a clean and get your whole community involved, join a clean in your local area. All of your cleaning action counts towards our million-mile goal. Find out more here: https://www.sas.org.uk/plastic-pollution/million-mile-clean/

Quick Tip: If you want to know exactly how far you walk whilst beach cleaning, you can join our group on the distance tracking app, Strava. Just download the app for free and join our group.

Our blue planet is on fire! The voice of the ocean must be heard within the climate crisis. Demand the government take action and sign our petition - www.sas.org.uk/ocean-and-climate-petition

We want all governments of the UK to recognise the importance of a thriving ocean, for the planet and people, and to utilise its capacity as a solution to the climate crisis. We are calling for:

1. OCEAN REWILDING AND BLUE CARBON HABITAT RESTORATION

We want to see an increased investment, and associated targets, in ocean rewilding to allow blue carbon habitats to thrive and actively remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in order to achieve negative carbon emissions.

2. IMPLEMENTATION OF HIGHLY PROTECTED MARINE AREAS (HPMAS)

We want to see the implementation of HPMAs to fully protect marine species from human disruption and to allow ecosystems to recover. We need marine areas where deep sea mining is banned, commercial fishing is prevented, oil and gas exploration is ceased and pollution inputs are tightly regulated.

3. RECOGNITION OF THE IMPORTANCE OF MARINE ECOSYSTEMS FOR HUMAN WELLBEING

We want governments at COP26 to acknowledge the pivotal role the ocean plays in sustaining economies and societal well-being and to ensure protection of coastal communities against the climatic changes we can no longer prevent, such as sea level rise and flooding.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

The ocean is under threat from human activity. Alongside the destruction caused by deep-sea mining, unsustainable fishing and pollution; climate change is causing ocean temperatures and acidity levels to rise dramatically. These changes are driving marine ecosystems and species to extinction and putting populations here in the UK, and across the world, at extreme risk.

Through protection and rewilding, marine environments can be restored to tackle climate change and help communities adapt to the climate impacts we can no longer prevent.

As the hosts of COP26, the UK government has a responsibility, to our blue planet and the populations who depend on it, to make sure the ocean is at the forefront of climate change negotiations. Sign the petition today: www.sas.org.uk/ocean-and-climate-petition