Well Done Felpham. 

The annual Great British Beach Clean is organised nationally by the Marine Conservation Trust. Felpham Village Conservation Society organises a regular beach clean on the second Saturday of every month come rain or shine. The Society decided to move their September clean to the third week to coincide with the Great British Beach Clean.  

As a result, 74 people, old and young, individuals and families, local and from further afield all descended on Felpham Beach for The Great British Beach Clean on the morning of Saturday 15th September. People came from as far afield as Reading and Brighton with one family with Felpham connections from London. The oldest was over 80 years and the youngest was not yet 2 years!  Representatives of the GBBC sponsors, Waitrose, came in support. Weather was bright and sunny with a low tide offering plenty of opportunity to 'beach clean’.  

A 'Spring' tide meant that the beach had been washed quite clean overnight resulting in yet more rubbish taken out to sea before we could get to it! Nevertheless there was plenty to find if people looked hard enough. And they did!  Once everyones individual bags were amalgamated we ended up with 6 full large bags of rubbish and recycling collected. One of these from the survey area was kept separate and details submitted to the Marine Conservation Society survey. 

The Summerly and Beach Estates also put on their own 'Cleans' at the same time.  They had another 45 volunteers making a combined total of 119 people out cleaning Felpham beach. What an achievement!

Cleaning was done along the whole of Felpham seafront from Middleton to Butlin's. Including the beach, the promenade, the greensward, the approach twittens and lanes, the beach huts, the gardens and leisure areas. The actual survey was done on the 100 metres from the Sailing Club to the Lobster Pot.  Details of what was collected in the survey area are now submitted to the Marine Conservation Trust who include the data in their national statistics. 

Items found ranged from a traffic cone to syringes (no needles thank goodness) and chinese lantern wiring to mobile phone parts. Even a folding chair!  Much of the small items such as wet wipes, foils, plastic bags, fishing line and netting was in congealed mass mixed up with seaweed. Lots of dog poo bags thankfully washed clean of poo. Generally the volunteers were also briefed to look for the small items and even tiny ones that can easily get into the food chain so lots of small broken bits of plastic were found.

Felpham Village Conservation Society Chairman, Joyce Pritchard, said ‘This was a great opportunity to involve the Felpham Community in helping to ensure our beach is kept clean and tidy. We were delighted with the response both locally and from people who had signed up and come quite some distance.  Particularly heartening were the numbers of young people who were doing their first beach clean and finding the small bits with their keen eyesight! We are proud that Felpham could play its part in this national effort”.

The Felpham Conservation Conservation Society organises a regular monthly Beach Clean come rain or shine on the second Saturday of the month at 10:30 starting in front of the Sailing Club. Usually around 20-30 people. members and non- members are welcome and volunteers get a free take away coffee thanks to the Lobster Pot Cafe. 

Items submitted to the survey included:

plastic/polystyrene cups, 
plastic bottles
plastic bags
Dog poo bags
cigarette lighters
plastic containers
plastic cutlery
plastic straws
small plastic bits
plastic piping
industrial gasket
plastic fishing line and net
tennis balls
clothing
shoes
wire wool
metal tubing
fishing weights
tin foil
glass bottles
broken glass
wet wipes