The beach at Mother Ivey’s Bay was buzzing with excitement as over 50 of our guests joined local Beach Guardian, Rob Stevenson, for a beach clean.

Rob, a passionate advocate for our local bays, known collectively as ‘the Seven Bays’, led the event with great enthusiasm.

Rob started the event with an enlightening talk on the importance of protecting our seas. Sharing insights into what participants might find during the clean, from small plastics to natural items, and he emphasised the significance of each discovery.

One fascinating highlight was Rob’s advice to look out for Mermaid’s Purses, which are egg cases for sharks or rays, revealing intriguing facts about sharks and also highlighting their unfortunate misrepresentation in the media.

While sharks only cause an average of five human fatalities annually, humans kill approximately 80 million sharks each year.

Rob also addressed the critical issue of plastic waste in our oceans. It was great to hear how Beach Guardian recycles the plastic found on these cleans, making green and blue litter pickers from old fishing nets and NHS masks respectively. Beach Guardian litter collection bags are ingeniously made from old tents discarded after events like the Boardmasters festival.

It’s heartening to hear that plastic waste has significantly declined across our local Seven Bays since Beach Guardian began their efforts.

Rob also encouraged everyone to participate in the Great Egg Case Hunt run by the Shark Trust, which offers another exciting way to contribute to marine conservation.

For those who missed this beach clean, don’t worry! We hope to welcome our local Beach Guardians back to Mother Ivey’s Bay soon. In the meantime, Beach Guardian hold regular beach cleans across all of the local beaches. Together, we can make a difference in preserving the beauty and health of our seas, so for more details and to join future events, visit their website and Facebook page.

Thank you again to everyone who participated, and we look forward to seeing you at the next beach clean!