Beach Care

Do you love the seafront and the vast acres of golden sandy beach? Then you’ll be interested in beach care and how to play your part in looking after it.

Stretching for miles, an open space for everyone to enjoy, it’s important to look after this wild and natural resource. Both for the wildlife which lives there and the people who use it. For today’s generations and for those of the future.

Why Beach Care Matters

Litter and pollution can be a problem in any natural space. Local authorities, utility companies, community groups and the general public all work together to do what they can to clean up this precious resource.

With winds as strong as they can be on this coast, a lot of litter gets blown into the water and onto the beaches and river. Some is dropped by the general public. But by any means, most of it is washed up from the sea.

Litter is unsightly and makes people think they can drop even more. But there are also practical reasons why it shouldn’t be there.

It can be a death trap for wildlife. For example, the string from balloon releases and net bags off plastic beach toys, rope and fishing line is an entanglement trap. It tangled around birds legs and wings. Around fish and mammals, who then can’t feed themselves, starve and die. Plastic that floats in the water looks like jellyfish to fish, mammals and birds. They eat it and, with a stomach full of plastic, they starve to death.

Litter Picking

An organised litter pick collects all manner of material, including the oddest of things. Toilet seats, car tyres, and even plastic Christmas trees can get washed up.

By far and away the most common things are drinking straws, bottle tops and little plastic cotton bud sticks. Sanitary products, disposable lighters and plastic cutlery, and many other things too.

A number of groups organise community litter picks all along the Fylde Coast. But beach care isn’t all about organised events. Just pick up the litter that you see when you’re out and about. Simply popping a piece of rubbish into a litter bin can make a world of difference.

Marine Diversity

By protecting and cleaning-up the marine environment we create a much better habitat for the thousands of species which call it home.

We’ve showcased just a few of the things here you might see but there are many more. What did you find?

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