A beach clean up with Tootsa & Surfers Against Sewage

19/07/2019


Tootsa kids clothes


We love spending as much time at the beach as possible, having grown up surfing in South Africa the beach and ocean hold's a really special place to me and somewhere I love to share with my kids. My children are very aware of how important is it to keep the ocean clean and free from plastic so every time we head to the beach we take a rubbish bag with us and do a mini beach clean which is a surprisingly fun activity with young children. Although if your kids are anything like mine they might get a little competitive about who picks up the most rubbish and litter.

One of our favourite charities and one I became really aware of during my student days in Falmouth, Cornwall is Surfers against Sewage, a marine conservation charity which is helping to tackle plastic pollution and protecting the UK's coastlines for all to enjoy have just paired up with one of my favourite clothing companies that is Tootsa which focuses on unisex sustainable clothes for children and adults. Together that have made beautiful limited edition organic t-shirts and jumpers with the profits being donated to Surfers Against Sewage and they kindly set us these beautiful jumpers to help share the message of keeping our beaches clean.


Beach clean Wales

Tootsa clothing


Why do a #MiniBeachClean?

While Surfers Against Sewage do organise beach clean events they also encourage those to organise their own #MiniBeachClean - whether, with friends or just you and your kids, every action we take no matter how big or small makes a difference and is a small victory against plastic ending up in the ocean. Plus as I've said before it's a great feel-good activity for the school holidays and kids love it.

Just a few tips on a beach clean with kids

1. Always supervise young children
2. Be aware of the tide
3. Never pick up Syringes, needles or broken glass
4. Focus on plastic waste - do not attempt to clean up things like used coal & bbq waste
5. Pack a basic first-aid kit - just in case anyone gets cut it's worth packing plasters and anti-septic
6. Anti-bacterial gel and gloves - if you're planning a big beach clean up then it may be worth packing gloves but at minimum some anti-bacterial gel or spray to keep your hands clean.



beach clean up

Surfers against sewage


This past week we wanted to go somewhere a little bit quieter, away from the maddening crowds as it gets so busy whenever the weather is good in Wales. Luckily some friends pointed us in the direction of a quiet cove near Barry and it made for the perfect base for an evening on the beach after school with a picnic packed. I was hoping because it was much quieter (only a handful on the beach on a beautiful Friday evening) that there wouldn't be that much plastic and litter as there are bins near the path to the beach and I always like to think positively and that people will work those 5 metres to the bin - however we are often proved wrong. During our beach clean up we found an array of plastic and rubbish from bottles to bouncy balls, wrappers, single-use utensils, polystyrene as well as coming across a lot of cigarette ends (a beach is not a big ashtray!), as well as clothing, just left!

In fact just before we set up our beach towel and make a little base for ourselves the couple that had been sitting to our right got up and left leaving a fizzy drink bottle stuck in the sand and multiple packets of crisps and chocolate - now those wrappers would directly go into the ocean at high tide - I just don't get it, we only have one planet and if everyone was a little bit more responsible things would be a whole lot better.


tootsa jumper

surfers against sewage


By the end of the evening, we had pretty much filled a whole bag which for a quiet beach is rather alarming but whatever we can do, even if it's just picking up a can on the way to the bin is a small victory. We also, of course, enjoyed the simple pleasures of spending a few hours on the beach, running around in the sand and in and out of the water as well as rock pooling (we actually stay there until 10pm - yes I know way past their bedtime but warm evenings like these are a bit of a rarity & I believe in making memories over strict routine). A simple visit to the beach really does offer hours of simple screen free time and what I loved about this cove was there wasnt even a shop nearby so we took a simple picnic, plenty of water and had a wonderful evening.


Welsh coastline

Welsh beaches

*I have kindly gifted the Tootsa jumpers. Words and views are 100% my own. 




11 comments:

  1. This is so amazing. I love the jumpers you all have on.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a beautiful cause. It’s so sad how the beaches get littered. This is a nice charity you support and it’s good the kids get involved. Love the little history about SA too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great tips, I think it is important to teach kids to keep beaches clean and tidy. It is so sad others have such disregard and leave rubbish on the beach x

    ReplyDelete
  4. I grew up by the coast and honestly until you do that you wouldn't believe how much trash rolls around on the beaches it's horrifying!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Never heard of that charity so thanks for sharing. We love visiting the beach but it is so far from us. Every time we go we try to collect as much rubbish as we can find.

    ReplyDelete
  6. We always take carrier bags to the beach and pick up rubbish whilst we are there - it always surprises me what people leave behind

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a brilliant cause , I’ve never heard of it but there needs to be more out there like this!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Fantastic job! We’ll do some litter picking where we next visit. Beach

    ReplyDelete
  9. I really wish people would take their litter home after a trip to the beach, rather than leaving it there :( Well done to you guys for taking action and doing something about it!

    Louise x

    ReplyDelete
  10. I can't believe that couple just left so much rubbish behind them! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?! I don't understand it at all. Well done to you and the kids for actively tidying up our beaches - incredible job. And the photography here is gorgeous too. High fives all round.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love causes involving the ocean and anything that has to do on cleaning it and its shores. I want to lookup Surfers Against Sewage and know more about them. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

Lovely comments

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...