Volunteering in numbers

13 beach clean groups along the Fylde Coast

382 beach clean events organised this year. Including 27 additional beach cleans put on for corporate groups and

schools

898 new volunteers attending beach clean events,

compared to 772 last year

12,200 volunteer hours given to cleaning beaches

compared to 11,860 last year

9150 bags of litter removed from beaches and

estuaries, compared to 8,900 last year

Engagement in numbers

10 presentations given

15 events attended

1,600 new people engaged in person

£114,410 saved through in kind contributions;

from partner organisations and volunteer hours

Fylde BeachCare April 2019 - March 2020 Summary

Press and media in numbers

12 pieces in newspaper press, 2 TV interviews

and 6 pieces on local radio

It’s been another great year for LOVEmyBEACH along the Fylde Coast, with the launch of exciting new projects and

more beach cleans taking place than ever before! We continue to support 13 volunteer led beach clean groups

along the Fylde Coast and have seen a huge increase in the number of corporate groups taking part this year. Our

army of dedicated volunteers have been recognised with 2 awards—Blackpool Tower’s Local Heroes and BBC Radio

Lancashire Community Project of the Year (Highly Commended). We have recently launched a new campaign, called

WOOP! which encourages teenage girls to switch to sustainable alternatives to bathroom products and behaviours.

LOVEmyBEACH continues to be a locally prominent voice in the quest to protect our marine environment, improve

bathing water quality and encourage positive behaviours on the beach, at home and in the workplace. Thank you to

all our volunteers, supporters, funders and partner organisations for your ongoing support.

Take a look to find out more!

2,700 followers on Fylde LOVEmyBEACH Twitter

1,700 followers on LOVEmyBEACH NW Twitter

2,400 followers on LOVEmyBEACH Facebook

770 followers on LOVEmyBEACH Instagram

There are 13 volunteer groups

along the Fylde Coast and LOVE-

myBEACH is proud to work along-

side each group in various ways:

Freckleton EstuaryCare

Friends of the Estuary (Lytham)*

Fairhaven CoastalCare

St Annes BeachCare

St Annes North BeachCare

Blackpool Sea Life Centre*

Bispham CoastalCare

Cleveleys BeachCare

Rossall Beach Residents*

Rossall Point BeachCare

Fleetwood BeachCare

Harbour Village EstuaryCare

Knott End BeachCare*

And of course not forgetting the

wonderful lone beach cleaners!

*Independently run groups

Volunteer led beach, coastal and estuary care groups

Increasing self-sufficiency of volunteer groups:

LOVEmyBEACH continues to offer varying levels of

support to each group. There are now 7 groups which

we provide equipment, insurance, risk assessments

and first aid training for. The other 6 groups receive

less formal support from LOVEmyBEACH, but are

equally valued volunteers.

This year, LOVEmyBEACH groups have begun keeping

more detailed records of the number of regular and

new volunteers taking part. Also the amount of bags

collected and/or weight of litter collected. This is help-

ing to build a picture of the long term impact of our

volunteer’s efforts and has led to increased media op-

portunities.

Fylde BeachCare

April 2019 - March 2020 Page 1

Between April 2019 and March 2020:

355 beach cleans led by volunteer groups

Over 9,000 bags of litter collected from Fylde

coast

Over 250 volunteers regularly engaged in beach

cleans

Over 12,000 volunteer hours given

With an economic value of over £105,000

Community engagement success stories

Fylde BeachCare

March 2016 - March 2017 Page 1

Spotlight on our wonderful volunteers

Fylde BeachCare

April 2019 - March 2020 Page 2

Take a look at the incredible achievements of our volun-

teers since LOVEmyBEACH began in 2012….

Over 2000 beach cleans led by volunteer groups

Over 3000 individual volunteers have taken part in a beach clean

Over 40,000 bags of litter removed from Fylde coast

Over 54,000 volunteer hours given

With an economic value of over £470,000

… To every single volunteer involved!

Just a few highlights of 2019…

Freckleton EstuaryCare removed 655kg of litter during just 12 clean ups

Fairhaven CoastalCare removed 230 bags of litter in just 12 months

St Annes North BeachCare have removed 3 tonnes in just 2 years

St Annes BeachCare have saved Fylde council over £9,000 this year

900 new volunteers took part in a beach clean this year

We welcomed 4 new group leaders this year—Debbie, Janice, Ruth & Peter

Christmas 2019

All our volunteer groups celebrate

Christmas each year, with either

mince pies on the beach, a Christ-

mas dinner or a meal out. We must

say a big THANK YOU to Glasdon,

who made a generous donation

towards the celebrations.

Award winning volunteers

Fylde BeachCare

April 2019 - March 2020 Page 3

It’s not just us who think our LOVEmyBEACH volunteers are

amazing! The Fylde Coast volunteers won two awards this

year, in recognition for their incredible beach cleaning

efforts! They were collectively named as Local Heroes to

celebrate Blackpool Tower’s 125th Anniversary. A group of

40 volunteers from beach clean groups along the Fylde

Coast were treated to afternoon tea and an evening of

dancing inside the famous Tower Ballroom.

Within the same month LOVEmyBEACH was nominated as

“Community Project of the Year” by BBC Radio Lancashire.

After some filming and interviews on the beach, 3 group

leaders were invited to a formal awards ceremony in

Blackburn. It was a fantastic evening, with a lovely three

course meal and the opportunity to hear about so many

wonderful projects and inspirational individuals throughout

Lancashire.

The strangest part of the award ceremonies was seeing

everyone in their “normal” clothes, rather than in wellies

and waterproofs!

Although our volunteers don’t beach clean for the praise

or recognition and many don’t consider themselves

“heroes”, these awards go to show that their dedication

to helping the environment and keeping our coastlines

clean throughout the year is something to be extremely

proud of.

Corporate beach cleans & engaging new audiences

Fylde BeachCare

April 2019 - March 2020 Page 4

Over the years we have always welcomed corporate groups to our beach

cleans, as it is a brilliant opportunity for companies to give something

back to the local community, whilst staff have the chance for team build-

ing out of the office.

However, this year we have been inundated with requests and corporate

beach cleans have been more popular than ever. In the last 12 months

we have received 62 enquiries!

To put this huge spike into context…LOVEmyBEACH had only delivered 34

corporate beach cleans between 2012 and 2019.

Enormous thanks go to our wonderful volunteer groups, who welcome

these corporate teams onto their beach cleans. A special mention to

the St Annes North BeachCare volunteers who have taken out 24

corporate groups and 9 schools/youth groups over the last 12

months—wow!

“I just wanted to send a

quick note of thanks for to-

day.

Michael was a great fgroup

leader and everyone from

Engie has commented on

what a fantastic opportunity

to get involved and help out

it has been.

He was a star today with his

local knowledge, stories and

tips for recycling.”

Feedback from Engie, who

joined the St Annes North

BeachCare group

The companies we have taken out

this year include: Matalan, Environ-

ment Agency, Direct Line, Ricoh,

Natwest, Engie, Talk Talk, Lloyds,

Bosch, Lex Autolease...

The feedback is always overwhelm-

ingly positive and LOVEmyBEACH

even received generous donations

totalling over £1500+ from Shell,

Avison Young and Key KR Group to

purchase more equipment for our

volunteers.

We have also estab-

lished a great part-

nership with the

Fylde Sand Dunes

Project and after

beach cleaning some

teams have joined

the project’s rangers

and taken part in

practical conservation

activities on the

dunes, in the after-

noon.

Special mention goes to United Utilities, who reg-

ularly allow teams to take part in beach cleans.

This year we have welcomed 10 UU teams have

brought 224 staff along to a beach clean. UU staff

alone have removed 460kg of litter from the

Fylde Coast during 2019!

Since LOVEmyBEACH began in 2012, UU have tak-

en part in 76 beach cleans and over 1600 UU

staff have volunteered along the Fylde Coast.

Working to reduce single use plastics

Refill campaign

We have continued to support the national Refill

campaign this year—working to reduce single use

plastic bottles. There are now over 120 Refill stations

on the Fylde Coast, thanks to the continued support

of volunteers, local businesses and various organisa-

tions joining forces with us to support the campaign.

A highlight of the ReFILL campaign was the involve-

ment of St Thomas’ CE Primary School, for the 2nd

year running. After a beach clean and assembly

about LOVEmyBEACH, Year 4 spent the morning

learning about the ReFILL campaign . In the after-

noon, we headed into St Annes to approach local

businesses and seek feedback from those who signed

up last year.

The afternoon was a huge success and the children

were brilliant ambassadors of LOVEmyBEACH, sign-

ing up an extra 12 Refill stations in St Annes.

Fylde BeachCare

April 2019 - March 2020 Page 5

Wipe Out Ocean Plastics!

Behind the scenes we have been working on a new

campaign this year. WOOP! Is aimed at teenage girls/

young women, with the objective of raising awareness

of the plastic content of products such as wet wipes

and period care products, and to highlight the impact

they can have on the environment when they are

flushed down the loo.

This is the age when habitual behaviours are formed

and also young women are significant users of these

products. So it is hoped through the campaign we will

encourage positive and responsible behavior to last a

lifetime.

We have designed new bathroom posters, stickers,

leaflets, a social media campaign and will be working

with Girl Guide groups to deliver interactive WOOP!

Sessions and raise awareness of how everyone can get

involved.

Stay tuned for the official launch in Spring 2020...

2 Minute Beach Clean Boards

In summer 2019, we were lucky enough to win £2000 from

Tesco, after shoppers voted us into 2nd place in the Tesco Bags

of Help scheme! The money will help us buy up to 4 more 2

Minute Beach Clean Boards. Stay tuned for more info on where

they’ll be along the Fylde Coast, during summer 2020.

Engaging schools and young people

Fylde BeachCare

April 2019 - March 2020 Page 6

National Citizen Service

Emily worked with a group 16-18 year olds from The Chal-

lenge National Citizen Service, on a series of social action

days during August. The group took part in a beach clean in

St Annes and hosted a “beach party”, with games and activi-

ties to educate families about litter on our beaches.

We also welcomed 5 other NCS groups out onto beach cleans

as part of their summer programme.

Throughout the year, we have also worked with

young people alongside The Police Cadets, BFC

Community Trust and UR Potential.

In November, Emily sat on the panel at Blackpool

Youth Summit—discussing all things environmen-

tal with Blackpool Youth Council.

This year, LMB has worked with 13 Fylde coast schools and

colleges, engaging over 900 students…

Assemblies at St Bedes High School and St Thomas &

Holy Family Primary Schools.

Interactive classroom sessions delivered to Baines En-

dowed and Hambleton Primary Schools.

24 different classes have taken part in a beach clean

this year! A class from Myerscough College took part in

a clean each week for a whole term and Highfield School

send a class of year 7’s every term.

Attended the North West Eco-Schools Conference, shar-

ing LMB messages to 14 different schools.

Fresher’s Fairs

This year we attended Myerscough College and

Blackpool & Fylde College Fresher’s Fairs to share our

messages with the students. Our display showcased

how to have a “plastic free night out” and even led

to LOVEmyBEACH being chosen as one of Blackpool

& Fylde College’s charities of the year!

Since LOVEmyBEACH

began in 2012, we

have delivered over

150 school ses-

sions and worked

with over 3800 stu-

dents...Inspiring the

next generation of

ocean lovers!

Raising awareness of LOVEmyBEACH

Fylde BeachCare

April 2019 - March 2020 Page 7

Attended 15 local events to raise awareness of the LOVEmyBEACH

campaign and spread our key messages, including:

Fylde Coastal Fair at Lytham 1940s weekend, engaging with over 300

people!

Fairhaven Lake Open Day & Wyre Estuary Country Park Open Day,

displaying the LOVEmyBEACH promotional stand

Blackpool Pier 2 Pier Swim, over 100 open water swimmers put local

bathing water improvements to the test!

World Ocean’s Day

To celebrate World Oceans Day on 8th June, Emily organised a mini Ocean

Festival on Blackpool Promenade, alongside Lancashire Wildlife Trust. Un-

fortunately, after month’s of preparation, the great British weather rained

the event off!

We were still able to join the Sea Life Centre on a WOD beach clean and

were even joined by Kiko Matthews on her bicycle tour of the UK coastline.

Thank you to all our

wonderful volunteers,

who joined us at these

events!

During 2019, LOVEmyBEACH has

engaged with over 1600 peo-

ple at events & presentations.

Since 2012, LMB has spoken to

over 7000 people!

Delivered 10 talks, including to:

Lytham Rotary Club

Friends of Ansdell Library

Lancashire’s Living Seas project

Launch event

International Blue Flag Man-

ager’s Conference—Blackpool

hosted this international confer-

ence with guests from all over

the world!

Press and media

12 pieces in newspaper press, 2 TV

interviews and 6 pieces on local ra-

dio...

Covering our volunteer groups, bathing water quality and plastic re-

duction campaigns!

Engaging with key partners

LOVEmyBEACH received significant in kind contri-

butions from volunteers and partner organisations.

Taking into account the economic value of volunteer

hours and contributions in kind such as storage

space, meeting venues and donations by private

businesses the total in kind contributions for 2019-

20 was £114,410

Special thanks goes to Blackpool Light Craft Club for

their continued support in allowing us to use their

facilities.

We continue to work closely with all 3 Local Authori-

ties, who are project partners, on volunteer engage-

ment, practical beach clean matters, events, bathing

water improvements and spreading the messages of

Fylde BeachCare further.

As the funders of the project, we work alongside the

Environment Agency and United Utilities, collabora-

tively working towards bathing water quality improve-

ments and sharing key messages throughout the North

West. This year, we sent out 560+ information packs to

local households with septic tanks, as part of the Call of

Nature campaign.

We also work alongside various local environmental or-

ganisations such as Wyre Rivers Trust, Ribble Rivers

Trust, Lancashire Wildlife Trust and Park View 4U.

Fylde BeachCare

April 2019 - March 2020 Page 8

2019-20 has been another brilliant year for Fylde BeachCare and LOVEmyBEACH. The campaign con-

tinues to grow from strength to strength and we are looking forward to the future and opportunity to

build on our previous successes, relationships and watch our army of dedicated volunteers grow!

As we head into April 2020, we are unsure what the year ahead will bring. The LOVEmyBEACH campaign is al-

ready looking at ways of adapting in response to the current Coronavirus pandemic and the safety of our volun-

teers will always be our top priority. Lets hope that in 12 months time, we can all look back on these challenges

and know that they brought our communities closer. Until then, please stay safe and keep in touch.

Emily, Fylde BeachCare Officer

We continue to support the Turning Tides board

and their vision to improve bathing water quali-

ty, whilst boosting the use of our coast. In partic-

ular we supported the Active Coast programme

of summer events on the coastline to encourage

everybody to get out, get active and use the

coast to connect to nature or to boost their

health and wellbeing.

LOVEmyBEACH is hosted by Keep Britain Tidy and we

continue to support the charities work throughout the

year. Throughout April our beach clean groups took part

in the Great British Spring Clean, the country’s largest

volunteer clean up event, and we look forward to its

return in September 2020.