Say hello to cleaner seas Introduction – LOVEmyBEACH is a North West campaign inspiring everyone to do their bit to help us have cleaner beaches and cleaner seas. Question: Who likes going to the beach? Which is your favourite beach? (Preferably a local one!)

How clean are our rivers and seas? We’ve worked really hard to make the seas and rivers clean, and although the water is cleaner now than in the past 20 years it’s still not as clean as we’d like. Question: What do you think is in the water at the beach?  Expected answers: salt, shells, sand, fish, seaweed

How do things end up on the beach and in the sea? Dropped by people visiting the beach – take a bag for your litter if you take a picnic…  Fallen off boats  Washed into the sea when it rains from drains overflowing  Came from rivers and further away  Came from sewers overflowing when they’re blocked or after rain

What happens away from the beach? Rainfall and water inland generally flows in streams and rivers to the sea.  Dirt from fields, roads and pavements can wash into rivers which flow to the sea  Sheep and cow poo from farms and fields and dog poo can wash into the sea. There’s lots of bacteria in animal poo so we need to stop it getting into the water! Question: What could you do? How many of you have a dog? Important to pick up its mess and put it in the bin - don’t forget dog poo bags!

What happens when you flush the toilet? Where do you think what’s in the toilet goes when you flush it?  It goes into a system of pipes called a foul sewer and to a treatment works where it breaks down and is treated by the water company United Utilities.  Sometimes people flush things that can’t be broken down – wet wipes, cotton buds sticks, – what do you think happens to them? Question: What could you do with these things instead of putting them in the loo? Put them in the BIN instead!

Where does water in the pipes go? As foul water travels through the pipes in can get stuck if the pipes are blocked by things wrongly flushed down the toilet and even fat in the pipes. This is a picture of a sewer blocked with fat from people pouring leftover cooking fat and oil down the sink – don’t pour it! When the water can’t get through the pipe it will either overflow into rivers and seas or sometimes even back into a house - yuk! Question: How can we stop that from happening? Do you have an old jar you could use to collect used cooking oil?

Top things you can do – Be a fat trapper! At home you can stop the pipes getting blocked by only flushing the 3’s – can you guess what they are? Pee, poo and (toilet) paper only go down the toilet! If someone at home is cooking with oils and fats make sure the leftovers don’t go down the sink but into an old jar instead – we call this a fat trap – and then in the bin, not down the sink.

Be a drain defender! The other types of pipes that carry water are called surface drains – these pipes carry clean rainwater straight into the rivers and seas. You have probably seen this type of drain at the side of the road. What shouldn’t you pour down these drains? Expected answers: oil, paint, washing up liquid – anything that’s not clean water! The less water that goes into the drains, the better. Question: How do you think we could reduce the amount of water in the drain? Expected answers: save water at home and school, when brushing teeth and having a shower etc.

Get a butt! This is a water butt. What do you think it does? Why is it good to collect rain water in a butt? That’s right – it reduces the amount of rain that goes into the surface drain pipes and so it doesn’t overflow. It’s also good to water your flowers so you don’t need to use tap water that’s expensive!

Thank you for your help! A big thank you to everyone for listening and learning about what you can all do to look after the beaches and seas. Next time you come out on the beach think about these top tips and remember to love the beach by taking your litter home. LOVEmyBEACH run lots of beach clean events in the North West so check the website to see if there’s one happening near you! Also remember to share what you’ve learned with everyone at home, tell them about only flushing the 3 p’s and making your very own fat trap for cooking oil 