Cleaning up for the Climate: The Beach Clean Project
Our planet is blessed with many beautiful beaches but there are issues our earth faces which threaten them, not least large amounts of plastic and rubbish. One of the groups tackling this is the Beach Clean Project which is an award-winning society based on our Penryn Campus.
Marine Biology student Rhiannon Bainbridge's passion for our coastal environment has seen her appointed as event co-ordinator for the Beach Clean Project. The society has nearly 200 members and in addition to cleaning up the Cornish coastline, was set up to raise awareness of the problems caused by plastic pollution, and the neglect which is contributing to the degradation of our ecosystems. The group typically runs fortnightly beach cleans around the county, hold plastic art workshops, and host talks from a variety of people. The students involved have gained recognition for their work, when they scooped the award for “Best Fundraising/Campaigning Society” at the National Society Awards in 2019.
In addition to this award success, the project has been working hard to create links with groups in the local community. The group helps with litter picks in Falmouth town centre, joining forces with the Falmouth Civic Society and Plastic Free Falmouth to bring people together in aid of the local environment. Their local street clean last year with Falmouth Civic Society & the Student’s Union Community Wardens made it into local newspapers. One of her favourite activities during her time in the group was her involvement in Plastic Free Week last year – as well as a whole week of plastic-free events, litter picks and trips to the Seal Sanctuary, Rhiannon and the Beach Clean Project spoke to several scientists at the plastic-free conference, and raised more than £250 for Big Blue Ocean Cleanup.
As well as the impact that the project is having on our local environment, Rhiannon has also found a great deal of personal satisfaction from her involvement. Not only has it had a positive impact on her studies, but it has given her the opportunity to develop in areas that are very close to her heart, and it has shaped her future career plans. As Rhiannon herself said: “Getting to talk to people of all ages about the topic of plastic pollution has encouraged me to follow a career in science communication. I enjoy speaking to people of different backgrounds and ages about these topics and would love to be doing something similar to that in the future.”
It’s a future that Rhiannon considers a lot in both her personal interests and her studies, seeing many challenges ahead, some of which we aren't aware of at present. She believes that one of the major challenges is to educate people on plastic pollution, so that people gain an understanding of the issue on a deeper level than simply having a reusable bottle or a paper straw. She also advises those looking to make a positive change to consider their shopping habits, by spending money in smaller businesses, refill stores, and fruit and veg markets. As she makes a point of saying: “Nobody can live a perfectly sustainable life, but the world doesn’t need a few people being perfectly sustainable. It needs everyone doing what they can to just be that bit more sustainable.”
Beach Clean Project committee members collecting the award for “Best Fundraising/Campaigning Society” at the National Society Awards in 2019