Hello everyone,
It’s been a little while since our last update — we’ve been incredibly busy with events and planning for an exciting summer of beach cleaning!
In early March, we partnered with Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) and the Scottish Seabird Centre (SSC) to host an interactive stall at the Marine Forum at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. Following that, we took part in a three-day exhibition at the Scottish Parliament’s Members’ Lobby — a fantastic opportunity to engage with MSPs from across Scotland.
Key topics we discussed included:
- The growing impact of marine pollution, particularly from discarded fishing gear and plastics.
- The challenges faced by volunteers and community groups due to the lack of legislative support and funding.
- The urgent need for better recycling and waste management solutions.
We also invited MSPs to join a beach clean or support their local beach cleaning groups to experience firsthand the barriers beach cleaners face.
From Holyrood, we rolled straight into a red-carpet evening at the premiere of the Shaping Our Shores documentary. This brilliant film, featuring SCCU, journeys around Scotland, highlighting some of the amazing individuals and organisations fighting marine litter. Shaping Our Shores is now available to watch for free on YouTube, we highly recommend it!
Watch it here: Shaping Our Shores
After all the events, we’re thrilled to be heading back to the beaches! Here’s what’s coming up:
Spring Beach Cleaning on Coll:
This week, a team of SCCU volunteers is travelling to Coll to tackle beaches badly hit by winter storms, which left behind a huge amount of plastic debris. On 12th April, we’ll be joining forces with the RSPB for a major clean-up at Crossapol Bay. If you’re on Coll or visiting, we’d love for you to join us!
North West Highlands Clean-Up:
From 24th to 27th April, we’ll be teaming up with the fantastic North West Highlands beach cleaning crew to target a few marine litter hotspots in the region.
Skye Plastic Recycling Effort:
In May, from 8th -11th we’ll be back on Skye alongside Skye Beach Cleans and the Scottish Islands Federation, working with the Ocean Recovery Project to collect and sort plastics for recycling.
Isle of Ulva Beach Clean – Our Biggest of the Year!
From 2nd to 7th June, we’re heading back to the beautiful, community-owned Isle of Ulva for our biggest beach cleaning event of the year, our fourth visit to the island!
We’ve booked much of the hostel and bothy accommodation to allow for as many volunteers as possible. We plan to clean Tuesday through Friday, returning on Saturday.
The Isle of Ulva is a truly special place, and it bears the brunt of Atlantic winter storms, bringing in huge amounts of marine debris. This is a fantastic opportunity to make a real difference and to be part of a memorable island experience.
Interested in joining us?
We’d love to have you along! Whether it’s Coll, the North West Highlands, Skye, or Ulva, get in touch to find out more:
kerriesccu@balancedhorizon.org
Thank you for your ongoing support and we can’t wait to see many of you out on the beaches soon!
- Facebook: Scottish Coastal Cleanup
- X (Twitter): @ScotCoastClean
- Instagram: @scottishcoastalcleanup