Super Sam’s LOVEmyBEACH Day Introduction – LOVEmyBEACH is a North West campaign inspiring everyone to help us have cleaner beaches and cleaner seas. We’re going to go through a day with super beach-lover Sam who is 8 to see what he does at home and when he visits the beach to look after it and keep it a safe and clean environment. Question – do you like going to the beach? What’s your favourite beach?
Super Sam’s a beach-loving hero! Sam loves the beach so much that he spends his day looking after the beach. He’s just 8 years old – so how does he do it? As we go through Sam’s day I want you to think about how he is looking after the beach.
Sam gets out of bed and goes to the bathroom Sam’s a flush fighter! Sam’s a Flush Fighter! He knows that he should only flush the 3 p’s down the toilet. Question: can you guess what these are? Answer: pee, poo and (toilet) paper! If Sam uses any wet wipes or cotton bud sticks – anything that contains any plastic, he knows to put it in the bin and not down the loo so as to keep the pipes clear and stop blockages that may end up in stuff from the toilet ending up in the sea – yuk! Question: Could you remind everyone at home to only flush the 3 p’s? Could you make a poster for your bathroom to remind them?
Sam has a fried egg for breakfast … yum! Sam’s a happy fat trapper! When Sam’s Dad cooks him a fried egg for breakfast Sam asks him to make sure all the leftover cooking oil and fat goes into their fat trap – an old jar that contains waste oil that can then go in the bin and not down the sink. Sam’s a Fat Trapper so he knows it’s important not to let any bits of food, oil or fat go down the sink as this can block the pipes too which can cause pollution to enter the sea. Question: Do you have an old jar at home you could use as a fat trap for used oil?
Sam goes out to his favourite beach Question: What do you like to do at the beach?
He walks his dog Monty where they are allowed on the beach Sam’s a scooper hero! Sam knows that in the summer from May to September there are certain areas of the beach where you can’t walk dogs, so Sam checks the signs at the beach and makes sure he takes Monty for a good run where they’re allowed. Sam’s a Scooper Hero so he also makes sure he has plenty of dog poo bags in his pocket! Question: True or false – you can be fined if you are found not to have a dog poo bag with you when walking a dog? This is TRUE in some locations and more councils are looking at bringing this rule in.
He has a picnic on the beach with his family Sam’s a litter binner! Sam’s Mum and Dad had brought food in reusable plastic boxes for their lunch so that the family didn’t have lots of packaging to get rid of and could use the boxes again. They had some crisps though and the empty bag nearly blew away in the wind! Sam’s a dedicated Litter Binner so he made sure the litter went in the bin. Question: What’s the best thing to do when you have rubbish at the beach? A) Leave it there, someone else will pick it up B) Put it in the bin at the beach C) Take it home and put it in the bin there or recycle it. (Answer: B or C but taking it home to the bin is best as sometimes litter will blow out of bins at the beach or they may be full and attract birds to the beach – please don’t feed the birds at the beach!)
Sam’s mum checks the water quality on the website or signs at the beach and they decide to go for a paddle Sam’s Mum knew that she could look at the LOVEmyBEACH website to check the water quality at their favourite beach. The rating of water quality, from poor (don’t swim), through sufficient, good and excellent, gives the family an idea about the amount of harmful bacteria in the water and whether it’s safe to swim and paddle in. Thankfully in the North West all the beaches have passed water quality standards, but there can still be times where pollution is greater, so it’s always a good idea to check the signs at the beach as well. Task: Have a look yourselves on the lovemybeach.org website or ask your parents or guardians to.
He makes a self-portrait from items found on the beach and puts any litter in the bin Question: What kinds of things do you think you would find at the beach? Have you ever made some beach art?
Sam’s brother waters the plants when they get home The garden is butt-iful! Sam’s brother uses water from the water butt that catches rain water from the roof of their house to water the plants. Saving water at home helps the beach as when it rains heavily less water will enter drains and pipes underground that carry dirty water and clean water to the water treatment works. This means the treatment works will be able to work properly and not have to overflow into the sea. Question: What other ways can you save water at home and school?
The family send photos of their great day at the beach to the LOVEmyBEACH team LOVEmyBEACH is all about sharing pictures and stories about our amazing beaches in the North West of England so we love it when people get in touch! You can send us an email or post photos to us on Facebook and Twitter: search LOVEmyBEACH (maybe ask your parent or guardian to do this)
Thank you for all your help looking after the beach! A big thank you to everyone for listening and learning about what you can all do to look after the beaches and seas. Remember, at home and school you can do your bit by only flushing the 3 p’s, making a fat trap and saving water. And if you go to the beach remember to look after the plants and animals, bin your litter and you could even pick some up if you see it and it’s safe to do so (check with your parent or guardian). LOVEmyBEACH run lots of beach clean events in the North West so check the website to see if there’s one happening near you. Blackpool Sea Life Centre run one a month on a Saturday morning and then you get into Sea Life for free!