Flotsam and Jetsam. Rotten Rubbish Removed!

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Flotsam and Jetsam December 2017 Welcome to the Argyll and Bute Beach Forum quarterly e-bulletin.

Our main aim is to raise awareness of the impacts of and reduce beach and marine litter and to support communities to take action by cleaning beaches. We hope you will find our e-bulletin interesting.

Tell us what you would like to see in the bulletin, it is your bulletin! Rotten Rubbish Removed!

1 Flotsam and Jetsam December 2017 Welcome to the Argyll and Bute Beach Forum quarterly e-bulletin. The Argyll and Bute Beach Forum is a project run by The GRAB Trust (as part of our Beaches and Marine Litter Project). Our main aim is to raise awareness of the impacts of and reduce beach and marine litter and to support communities to take action by cleaning beaches. We hope you will find our e-bulletin interesting. The bulletin is also available by post and on our website. Your contributions are always welcome. We want to make this bulletin as useful as possible. Tell us what you would like to see in the bulletin, it is your bulletin! Rotten Rubbish Removed! Inspired by local resident, Peter MacBride (pictured), Kilfinan Community Council and 10 brave volunteers headed to Glenan Bay at Portavadie on Sunday 12 th November to support him in collecting beach litter and rubbish around the bay. Over 30 bags of litter were collected on the day. However, there was so much they had to stash it for collection another time. The community were recently awarded funding from Argyll & Bute Environmental Improvement Fund to purchase 30 litter pickers, gloves, bag-rings and high-viz vests so they can do their own beach cleans around the district. Michaela Blair, Convenor of Kilfinan Community Council, said When we found out that Peter MacBride and William MacAllan were going to Glenan on a beautiful day we all piled in. One local resident from Portavadie said A lot of this stuff is Peter MacBride at Glenan washed up from fishing concerns and fish farms. We will try and ask the local fish farm to help us haul it out. The single track path through Glenan was particularly muddy so removing the rubbish to roadside was a big effort for everyone. Thanks go to all the hard-working volunteers, Tighnabruaich & District Development Trust, Kilfinan Community Council, Kyles 10 Miles and,of course, Argyll & Bute Council for contributing towards the award. There will be lots more beach cleans taking place in and around the Cowal area so like us on our Tighnabruaich Facebook page and look out for more dates for volunteering with Peter and his beach clean gang! Community volunteers clean the beach

like to share this picture recently taken by their sampling

They think the snails were feeding on the algae growing on the

Two gorgeous pictures here of Lochgilphead Pre-Five children

2 Feeding Snails! SEPA did not have an article this time but thought they would like to share this picture recently taken by their sampling officer, Lynne MacDonald, at Machrihanish beach. They think the snails were feeding on the algae growing on the wood. Lochgilphead Primary Pre-Five Unit Do it Again! Two gorgeous pictures here of Lochgilphead Pre-Five children carrying out their two recent litter-picks. Thank you to all the children and staff for cleaning up the environs surrounding the joint campus!

Dunoon, Helensburgh & Lomond Area What a busy and wonderful winter season we have had in

Schools from all across the region have taken part in GRAB Trust workshops and beach cleans

Hermitage Primary School s P6 enjoyed an active session of workshops at the start of

3 Dunoon, Helensburgh & Lomond Area What a busy and wonderful winter season we have had in Dunoon, Helensburgh & Lomond! Schools from all across the region have taken part in GRAB Trust workshops and beach cleans over the past months including Strone, Stachur, Kilmodan and St. Mun s Primary Schools. Hermitage Primary School s P6 enjoyed an active session of workshops at the start of October, followed by a terrific beach clean of Helensburgh West Bay where they found 42Kg of litter. A huge thank you is due to all the wonderful parent helpers and staff that made the clean possible. P6 have now taken on the West Bay with the Marine Conservation Society s Beachwatch campaign and are taking the message to the rest of the School.

As part of Luss Primary School s Eco week, the school took part in workshops exploring excuses that people make for littering, creating posters for an anti-litter campaign and looking at how marine

We looked at Marine Conservation Areas around Argyll and the harm that Marine litter has on our unique wildlife.

marine litter is present, hurting our environment and wildlife.

4 As part of Luss Primary School s Eco week, the school took part in workshops exploring excuses that people make for littering, creating posters for an anti-litter campaign and looking at how marine litter effects their local environment. Arrochar Primary welcomed The GRAB Trust for a brilliant day of workshops. We looked at Marine Conservation Areas around Argyll and the harm that Marine litter has on our unique wildlife. We explored how long litter takes to decompose in our seas using the timeline workshop, comparing the length of decay to how old modern inventions are to help get a perspective on just how long marine litter is present, hurting our environment and wildlife. In a last minute change of day Dunoon Primary School P4/5 missed a stormy day and instead were treated to beautiful sunshine for their beach clean at Dunoon West Bay, finding 450g of recyclable rubbish for Terracycle. The impressively knowledgeable kids discussed how litter ends up in our environment and the damage it can do. We finished up our workshop looking at the effects of people flushing litter down the toilet with some remarkable impressions of poo from some very enthusiastic P4/5s! Many thanks to all the wonderful staff, parents and especially kids who took part in workshops and cleans this year. Have a great festive holiday and we ll see you all in the New Year. Ben Appleby, Project Worker, Dunoon, Helensburgh & Lomond

Kintyre & Mid-Argyll Following on from a busy start to the term where the key focus was the Marine Conservation Society s MCS Beachwatch Great British Beach Clean the results have now been published.

The impact Blue Planet 2 is having on the school children is wonderful with the children often leading discussions with regard to the impacts on marine life and quoting what they saw on the programme.

5 Kintyre & Mid-Argyll Following on from a busy start to the term where the key focus was the Marine Conservation Society s MCS Beachwatch Great British Beach Clean the results have now been published. These have been sent to all schools who undertook the survey along with certificates for the children. The impact Blue Planet 2 is having on the school children is wonderful with the children often leading discussions with regard to the impacts on marine life and quoting what they saw on the programme. This has really brought the issue to life for the children and increased their engagement with the project. Lochgilphead Joint Campus Under 5 s enjoyed meeting Terrance the Leatherback Turtle and Sammy the Seal and listening to their stories describing their personal experiences with marine litter. The children were thankful they were rescued and were now heathy enough to visit them! Little hands delved in to the beach findings bag to see what they could find, asking themselves does it belong in the sea or on the beach?. The children are very active and knowledgeable with regard to recycling and so the project was able to build upon the values that were evident in the children. To finish the workshop the children completed the Fish don t like plastic workshop and enjoyed getting a little messy and making some fabulous fish for their display. Following completing an MCS Beachwatch Survey at Machrihanish last term the project visited Drumlemble Primary School to discuss their findings. As this beach has been surveyed over a number of years the children were able to compare the results and see if they could find any trends. Minard & Furnace Primary Schools are sister schools both based close to the beach on the East side of Kintyre. Although the children enjoy spending time learning on the beach, due to poor weather we could not get out and about so instead we had a fun-filled, classroom-based workshop. After plenty of discussions and watching some short videos, the children used items of litter they had brought from home to make some very realistic marine animals. Unfortunately, some of these magnificent animals had pieces of plastic in their mouths and in their stomachs.

Dalintober beach is in the heart of Campbeltown, with historical interest the beach has its own community group who raise funds and work hard to rejuvenate the area.

6 Dalintober beach is in the heart of Campbeltown, with historical interest the beach has its own community group who raise funds and work hard to rejuvenate the area. Dalintober Primary School is involved in the project and so a beach clean was the perfect workshop. The children from Primary 3 and 4 worked hard to collect the litter, discussing the source and what harm it could do to their marine life, especially in the loch. The children plan to undertake an MCS Beachwatch survey next term with the view to adopting this beach. The beach has historically been a MCS survey area so there will be plenty of data to compare and it will be wonderful to see this continue in the future. On a crisp winter s day Clachan Primary School joined by Tarbert Academy Primary 6 & 7 ventured out to compete an MCS Beachwatch Survey workshop at Dunskeig Bay. This stunning beach is inaccessible by car so we followed a farm track on foot for the half -hour walk from the village school. It was a cold winter s day but the children were well equipped with waterproofs, gloves and wellies and very enthusiastic. The pupils collected a large amount of litter and on a grassy area set out to identify and record the litter they found. The pupils did especially well assisting carrying the litter and equipment back to the school ready for collection. Returning to the school after a much needed warm lunch, we uploaded their data onto the MCS beachwatch website and discussed the results. To finish off the day with a bit of fun the children made marine animals from household recycling that they brought in. Andrea McShannon, Project Worker, Mid-Argyll & Kintyre

Oban Lorn and the Isles In the last Flotsam and Jetsam we reported that a number of schools and groups had participated in the Marine Conservation Societies Beachwatch 24 th Great British Beach Clean

7 Oban Lorn and the Isles In the last Flotsam and Jetsam we reported that a number of schools and groups had participated in the Marine Conservation Societies Beachwatch 24 th Great British Beach Clean (GBBC). We gladly passed on the Thank you certificate from MCS to all our schools who joined in the survey adding vital results to the 2017 GBBC report. As Andrea mentions the report has been published and is available on the Beachwatch website. See link later in the newsletter please do check this out for yourselves. Whilst the story of marine litter is not a new one, plastics themselves have really hit the headlines recently from news articles, Government plans and the amazing Blue Planet II. A shift in the message focus from Sir David from the original series in 2001 highlights the scale of the problem worldwide coupled with the wonder of the marine environment. It s been a great discussion point so far helping us to engage further with Argyll communities and schools. Following on from their own GBBC efforts, pupils and staff from Ulva Primary School on Mull enjoyed a gloves on workshop sorting through and identifying the types and likely sources of the items collected from their adopted beach at Lagganulva. The class commented that the plastics recycling they had collected from the non-survey area was most likely from the roadside rather than being washed up. At the mercy of the Atlantic Ocean there can be some strange items washed ashore here and the class were especially curious and interested in where their items may have originated from. So much so that detective skills were forefront in this particular session! Many likely more localised items were picked up but also a cap and a large piece of a container from the Americas! We drew the day to a close and exercised limbs as well as brains in a marine facts fact or fib active quiz. A relatively short walk from the school, Lagganulva shore has been surveyed a few times now and the class are looking forward to seeing if they can identify any trends as well as comparing these data with other areas on the island including their partner school at Lochdon. Rainbow Nursery in Oban have been visiting one of the Esplanade beaches regularly collecting dropped and washed up litter and recycling what they can. As it has turned decidedly more wet, windy and chilly the children are learning about recycling in a different way by using waste paper to make logs for the fire and also getting messy having a go at handmade paper! We look forward to seeing their creations. Out at Strath of Appin Primary, north Argyll the pupils have added weekly clean-ups of the school grounds to their class jobs this term. They ve been surprised by how much litter collects in the playground and not all from school users! Latterly this term, the upper school (P4-7) topic has been the 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development whereby the pupils have paired up to work on a mini-project of their choice to take action on one of the Goals. A group of three boys had selected the Global Goal Life under the water and explained to Mrs McAllister they wanted to do a beach clean that month and could we (BMLP) help? Of course! With such enthusiasm and ownership we were especially keen to oblige in their request for a few pointers or advice (as well as a further polite request to borrow more pickers and gloves!)

With the help of Mrs McAllister three boys invited me to school to help them to organise their clean up.

their clean once they had finalised the time, date and location.

All three enjoyed living by the coast and using the sea but two boys had been unfortunate enough to find dead creatures (a gull and a large fish) which had become entangled in litter and washed up on

Armed with answers to their questions, their fabulous drafted posters and some fact-finding exercises they were down to final preparations and two weeks later I was back at school to join in.

8 With the help of Mrs McAllister three boys invited me to school to help them to organise their clean up. The boys were incredibly well prepared already with a list of questions, a few powerpoint slides of the safety rules they felt their classmates needed to be aware of and fabulous posters to advertise their clean once they had finalised the time, date and location. Before we started I was interested in why they had chosen this particular Global Goal Life under the water and a beach clean to tackle this wide ranging goal. All three enjoyed living by the coast and using the sea but two boys had been unfortunate enough to find dead creatures (a gull and a large fish) which had become entangled in litter and washed up on the shore. This clearly had a profound effect on them and they wanted to help by trying to prevent this happening further by organising a school clean-up at one of their local beaches. Armed with answers to their questions, their fabulous drafted posters and some fact-finding exercises they were down to final preparations and two weeks later I was back at school to join in. Starting with a short talk and questions and answers to the whole school it was then up to the boys leading the clean to explain their rules and to tell everyone why they had chosen to carry out a beach clean. Some children had been watching Blue Planet II and empathised with the boys when they described their reasons for choosing the Goal Life under the water. Whilst the younger pupils litter picked the school grounds the P4-7s carried out a very successful clean-up of the north shore facing the famous Castle Stalker and the Old Inn car park. For a seemingly clean beach they collected a large amount of rubbish which had likely been there a long time as well as newly deposited items. They were surprised but proud that they had been able to remove as much in such a short time (an ice-rink for a cycle track thwarted walking plans but did not hold the team back on such a beautiful winter day and Plan B was put into action with staff cars to transport an extremely keen and well-dressed class to the beach). A lot of scrap metal was collected and piled up but could not be removed at that time however, the Appin community spirit is strong and the class decided that families with bigger vehicles and equally strong Grandpa s would step in to assist to remove this rusty pile and the four bags of fly-tipped Blue Circle cement!

Back at school after lunch the whole school got involved again to examine their beach finds. Litter ranged from glass and broken clay pipes to fishing materials and public waste plastics.

A sorting exercise and discussion about the different areas they cleared was followed by a Clan environmental art speed challenge and recycling tasks before getting inside to warm up with a

The amazing smiley jellyfish, large fish and narwhal with a stomach full of plastic adorned the playground for a short time rounding off a fun filled day at the end of a hard week for the busy school.

9 Back at school after lunch the whole school got involved again to examine their beach finds. Litter ranged from glass and broken clay pipes to fishing materials and public waste plastics. An intact ratchet and long cloth strapping band was to be found a new home, perhaps wrapped up for Christmas! A sorting exercise and discussion about the different areas they cleared was followed by a Clan environmental art speed challenge and recycling tasks before getting inside to warm up with a well-deserved hot chocolate. The amazing smiley jellyfish, large fish and narwhal with a stomach full of plastic adorned the playground for a short time rounding off a fun filled day at the end of a hard week for the busy school. The class are set to carry out a Beachwatch survey in the new year and are keen to adopt this historical area within reach from their village hub. Barcaldine Primary School, north Argyll welcomed the BMLP for an afternoon in late December. Learning from each other, discussions and stories centred around plastics being the most found material on our shores around the world and on the go plastics now making up 20% of this litter. Pupils and staff (and me) had collected much of their recent plastic waste from home and within just a few days, even for a small school there was a giant pile. What could be recycled? What couldn t? What alternatives could there be? Christmas creativity ensued with some fabulous reusing of the every-day waste for decorations and more (photos in the next edition). Everyone was left with a task of thinking about the amount of waste we humans create over the Christmas excitement and we look forward to hearing how the school get on when we revisit in the new year. Nestled right on the shore of Loch Creran there will be a further inside workshop and an excursion to the shore to carry out a clean-up and hopefully a marine litter survey of an area that is a hive of industry around Loch Creran. As an outdoor learning enthusiastic school it is hoped that Barcaldine Primary will adopt a small stretch of the lochside for activities and data return in the long term. Janie Steele, Project Worker, Oban, Lorn & The Isles

10 List of acronyms used in the bulletin KSB: HWDT: CMPP: SEPA: SAMS: SNH: MCS: TEAR: Keep Scotland Beautiful Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust Clyde Marine Planning Partnership Scottish Environmental Protection Agency Scottish Association for Marine Science Scottish Natural Heritage Marine Conservation Society Tiree Environmental Action and Recycling GRAB Project Workers Julie Fairbrass (Project Manager) Tel: Janie Steele (Beaches & Marine Litter Project Worker Oban, Lorn & The Isles) Tel: Andrea McShannon (Beaches & Marine Litter Project Worker Mid-Argyll & Kintyre) Tel: Ben Appleby (Beaches & Marine Litter Project Worker Dunoon & Helensburgh) Tel: Jean Kennedy Administrator Tel: Please send articles for the Flotsam & Jetsam bulletin to Jean Kennedy. All Project Workers are part-time so please note that they are not always available to answer all queries in regard to beaches & marine litter issues. Beachwatch Bute Beach Ranger Sandra MacMillan Bute Tel: Re-Jig, Islay Beach Project Ina Glover Tel:

The Argyll and Bute Beach Forum The GRAB Trust c/o Argyll & Bute Council Kilmory Lochgilphead Argyll PA31 8RT Tel: 01546 604227 Web:

Please note that all views expressed are not necessarily the views of The GRAB Trust or the Argyll and Bute Beach Forum.

11 The Argyll and Bute Beach Forum The GRAB Trust c/o Argyll & Bute Council Kilmory Lochgilphead Argyll PA31 8RT Tel: Web: grab.org.uk Disclaimer Thanks for reading. Please note that all views expressed are not necessarily the views of The GRAB Trust or the Argyll and Bute Beach Forum. We hope that you have enjoyed our e-bulletin. We would like to hear from you and would appreciate any comments you may have about it. The Argyll and Bute Beach Forum is funded by the following organisations:

Great Plastic Pick Up

A GUIDE TO ORGANISING YOUR Great Plastic Pick Up #GreatPlasticPickUp Contents Preparation 4 Got it all mapped out? 4 Who wants to get involved? 6 Equipment and further help 7 Litter picking and recycling