A coastal conservation charity is calling on people to come and try their hand at plastic surgery.
Staff from Living Coasts, Torquay’s coastal zoo and aquarium, are running a series of beach cleans around Torbay. The next is on Saturday 12th May at Preston Beach, Paignton, between 9.00am and 11.00am.
Living Coasts spokesperson Phil Knowling said: “It’s plastic surgery, except we don’t add it, we take it away – along with the rest of the rubbish. It’s about making our beaches more attractive, giving them a maritime makeover. Then we can all spend more time outdoors, on the beach, enjoying the summer without having to pick our way through litter and worrying about what the kids are picking up.”
The free Living Coasts clean-up events give people the chance to help give local beaches a facelift, and to learn more about local species, biodiversity and the shoreline.
“It’s a really fun, easy way of helping the environment. When you have a lot of people on a beach clean, you soon make a big difference. Even the worst beach looks good for a coastal facelift. We want to help make our beaches beautiful for bodies this summer!”
Litter is brought in by the tide and left by beach users. All around Torbay just offshore and underwater are beds of seagrass which is home to many amazing creatures. Litter harms this delicate environment and the species which live there.
The charity works with other groups, like the Torbay Cleaner Coasts Initiative. TCCI are doing a clean on 11thApril with Brixham Sea Rangers. They also give talks and are taking a stand at the Devon County Show (17th to 19th May). More information can be found on their Facebook page:
Future Living Coasts clean-ups scheduled include:
You can register your interest on the Living Coasts web site:
https://www.livingcoasts.org.uk/plan-your-visit/whats-on/events/detail/Coastal-clean-ups
