Marine Conservation Society

Thousands of volunteers got involved in this year's Great British Beach Clean, sponsored by Cully & Sully Soup, heading to beaches across the UK and Channel Islands to remove and record litter items.

Over 400 beach cleans took place over the 10-day event, with volunteers braving the weather to take part.

The data collected on the beach cleans will help track litter pollution, highlighting trends and allowing the Marine Conservation Society to campaign for change to prevent and reduce litter entering the ocean.

Why not make your next company away day an outdoor activity that’s brilliant for bonding and even better for the environment, by organising a team beach clean: read more and contact us here.

*Whether you want to take on a full marathon or something a little less daunting, we've got a great selection of running events and fun runs to suit everyone. *

With locations from Brighton to Edinburgh, we're sure you'll find an event in your area. Run as an individual or get your workplace involved and create your ideal team to fundraise for the ocean.

Contact our friendly fundraising team for help, advice, and information on all events.

Choosing your next fundraising challenge couldn't be easier. Visit the Run for Charity website and search events by region, month or type of activity or choose from a selection on our website.

Photo by Kampus Production

Image credit: Phil Wilkinson

What is citizen science?

Citizen science, sometimes also known as community science, is when members of the public work together with scientists to conduct scientific research. It’s a really useful science as more data can be collected over a larger area and it can help to inspire behaviour change in communities. It’s also fun to do!

Citizen science programmes have a genuine scientific outcome, like developing scientific knowledge, answering a specific question or collecting evidence to influence policies, so taking part can create real change to better protect our ocean.

How can I get involved in citizen science at the Marine Conservation Society?

There are lots of ways to get involved with our citizen science projects – we have six currently running and we’re always thinking of new projects to inspire our supporters. They cover a range of topics, are open to everyone and can be done anywhere in the UK, so no matter who you are or where you live, you can take part and make a difference!

(5 mins) Wildlife sightings – Tell us if you spot any jellyfish or marine turtles around the UK or Irish coast. We’re working with University of Exeter and University of Plymouth to use these sightings to investigate the health of our ocean. Read our latest report here.

(10 minutes-1 hour) Source to Sea litter quest – Record the litter you find in your local park, street or school ground. You can take part anywhere in the UK, even if you don’t live by the sea! We're tracking how litter travels to the ocean and using this as evidence for deposit return scheme policies.

(30 mins) Big Microplastic Survey (in partnership with Just One Ocean and University of Portsmouth) – Look out for microplastics - the smallest plastics which cause a lot of trouble in our ocean. The project scientists are interested in tracking where and which different types are found on our beaches.

(1 hour) Beach clean – Record litter that you find on a 100-metre stretch of any beach around the UK. This data helps track ocean pollution trends and informs policy changes to better protect UK seas. We also work with other European countries that do the same thing to track this on an even larger scale.

(1 hour) Big Seaweed Search (in partnership with the Natural History Museum) - Record which seaweeds you find on your trip to the beach. Our project seaweed scientist is really interested in how 14 different species of seaweed are moving around the UK in response to climate change.

(2-3 hours) Seasearch - Do you dive or snorkel in the UK or Irish seas? Tell us what marine life you spot on your underwater adventure. This data is vital to track the health of our marine environments.

To read this post in more detail, please visit our blog.