Monday 27-02-2017 - 13:31

Cymraeg

 

 

On Wednesday 22nd of February our Swansea, Lampeter and Carmarthen campuses teamed up to clean 3 different Welsh beaches. From Aberaeron to Ferryside to Swansea, TSD volunteers braved the rain and wind to improve our environment, save our wildlife and clean our beaches!

 

At TSD we’re proud to have revisited our annual Beach Clean as a part of Student Volunteer Week that not only provided a fun volunteering opportunity for students, but encouraged, and raised awareness, of the issues of safeguarding our seas, coastlines and beaches.

 

We teamed up with Surfers Against Sewage, who last year managed to remove an amazing 64 tonnes of marine litter.

 

 

What we found…

 

We found broken plastic, plastic bottles, bottle caps, a shoe sole, parts to plastic kids toys, parts of tyres, lots of tissue and fishing nets, cans, cigarette heads, broken umbrellas, lighters and even glass!

 

Why Beach Cleans are so important...

 

With the help of students, officers, staff and our trusty Beach Clean Box we managed to rid the areas of all manner of unnatural objects.

 

Did you know, the amount of marine litter found on UK beaches has more than doubled in the last fifteen years and something as simple as a cigarette butt can take 10-12 years to decompose and a cotton ear bud will take almost 150 years to decompose?!  Just one of the ways these are dangerous to marine life, is that they can be eaten which could cause physical damage or starvation!

 

The amount of marine litter found on UK beaches has more than doubled in the last fifteen years, 6.4 million tonnes of litter are estimated to enter the sea annually mostly through our sewage system. We want to make sure TSD students are made aware of their actions so they can now be mindful of how their actions affect our environment.

 

Plastic items make up the vast majority of marine litter and never truly break down, so next time you think about picking up a bottle of juice or water from 1822, the Halliwell or a café think about reusing one you already have.

 

What you can do now…

 

We are really pleased that so many fantastic students at TSD came together to help clean our beautiful Welsh beaches, so check out our social media platforms for pictures of the team. You can find some useful tips and keep up to date on Surfers Against Sewage at http://www.sas.org.uk/

 

What better way to make a difference than to get involved in something you’re passionate about while also expanding your skillset?  If you would like to organise a student beach clean, or any other volunteering activity then get in contact with your campus Student Engagement Officer or Campus President who will be able to assist you.  

 

Remember to recycle!

Remember to reuse!

And remember to get involved!

 

What else can you get involved with?

Fairtrade Fortnight and NUS Blackout is coming up soon and we would like YOU to get involved. If you would like to participate in either events or have any ideas then please let us know!  

  

Caerfyrddin / Carmarthen

Kelly Keat | Kelly.keat@uwtsd.ac.uk

 

Llambed / Lampeter

Bea Fallon | b.fallon@uwtsd.ac.uk

 

Abertawe / Swansea

Andrew Jones | Andrew.g.jones@uwtsd.ac.uk