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Beach clean-up enters it's 5th year

Sun, 30 Jan 2011 10:59:59 GMT

The beach clean-up at Seafield entered it's 5th consecutive year in 2008 with another successful haul of litter and other found-items this September.

Seafield Environmental Group organised the latest of it's bi-annual beach clean-up events which this year fell on Sunday September 21st.

The September clean-up is timed to coincide with the annual 'Beachwatch' event organised by the Marine Conservation Society which always takes place over the third weekend of September.

Spring Clean volunteers bask in glory

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 10:46:00 GMT

Volunteers at the Spring Clean this Saturday enjoyed glorious spring weather as they scoured the beach and dunes, achieving yet another impressive haul.

On first arriving at the beach we were pleasantly surprised at the apparent lack of obvious litter visible from our base at the SEPA notice board. However it didn’t take long for our intrepid volunteers to find some serious litter black-spots at each end of the Beach.

The tiel burn (or perhaps the near-by Esplanade) seem to be one major a source of incoming litter to Seafield Beach.

The other major source of the more unusual items we find is the erosion of the sea-grass dunes which is continually revealing the copious amounts of construction waste carelessly dumped below the surface of the car-park – presumably during the construction of the housing estate at Seafield?

As usual we also found plenty of maritime-related waste either fallen or thrown from fishing boats or cargo ships.

We worked extra-hard to salvage recyclable items such as plastic bottles and glass from the collection.

You can view a slideshow of photos from all of our past cleanup events below:

A big thank-you once again to all those volunteers show turned up to support the event, and to Dominos Pizza and Greggs the Bakers for food treats on the day.

Beachwatch 2009 reveals more plastic than ever

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 10:48:00 GMT

The UK’s biggest beach clean-up this year again saw Seafield Environmental Group contributing our results to the national survey. The report published last week has shown that the rubbish littering our coast is made up of more and more plastic as time goes on.

The national picture

Appallingly, there is now a piece of litter for every step you take along a beach in the UK. 64% of all of the litter removed during clean-ups in Autumn last year consisted of plastic items. Since 1994 recorded beach litter has increased overall by 77%, but with plastic component increasing by a staggering 121%.

Seafield statistics

At Seafield the numbers differ slightly from the national averages in that a lower percentage (40%) of all wastes were plastic but the occurrence of polystyrene (trays, cups, and smaller pieces) found have been double the national average in the last two years.

In line with the national trend our second most common find is that of crisp, lolly, and sweet wrappers.

Glass, paper, wood, and metal come next in terms of overall quantities found and all of these litter types also show up in quantities that are up to ten times the national average.

From these results Seafield would appear to have a particular problem with it’s vicinity to the town promenade (with it’s after-hours takeaways a likely source of food trays) and perhaps it’s use by irresponsible people during the evenings bringing bottles for refreshment but sadly not taking them away again.

Chair of Seafield Environmental Group (SEG), Rohan Cragg says:

“During the regular clean-up we organise here at Seafield Beach, it’s clear to see that food trays left at the site or more likely blown along from the promenade are a constant problem and get caught up in the dunes making the whole area look pretty unsightly. We also find a lot of broken glass which suggests that people are making a point of bringing bottles here and smashing them after using them rather than taking them away.

We also see pretty clear evidence that when people visit the beach in their cars they often simply sit in the car and deposit food wrappers out of the window despite there being bins provided at the site by the Council.

Nevertheless some people are making an effort to use the bins but sadly we’ve also seen evidence that the bins that are made available must overflow fairly regularly since the majority of food wrappers are found within a few metres of the bins, and so there’s probably more that the council could do in that regard to address the litter problem at Seafield.”

SEG have been in regular contact with the locality manager at Seafield and with the coastal officer responsible for beach litter and we’ll continue to highlight our findings to them whenever we can.

What can YOU do about all this litter?

Our beaches and seas are being overwhelmed with rubbish and YOU can help.

The Marine Conservation Society has asked the Government to take the lead and draw up action plans to help reduce marine litter to make our beaches safer, cleaner places for people and wildlife. We need your help NOW to keep the pressure on our leaders and help turn the tide on the litter. Sign their marine litter petition and support the campaign for clean seas and beaches.
Pass on the message! Most people don’t realise the amount of rubbish that is piling up on our beaches and the harm it’s doing. You can help today by sending our free e-postcards to your friends.
Join us for our next Spring Clean (Sunday April 24th @ 2pm) and for Beachwatch Big Weekend 2010 at a time (to be arranged) over the 18th and 19th September 2010.

You can read more about what litter we found in Beachwatch Big Weekend 2009 by downloading the Summary Report.

Read other reports and downloads...

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Ship-to-ship oil transfer proposal rears its ugly head

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 10:49:00 GMT

Furious Fife councillors look set to renew their fight against ship-to-ship oil transfers in the Firth of Forth

The most recent development in the long running campaign against ship-to-ship oil transfers is that the Maritime and Coastguard Agency have drafted new Regulations to control ship-to-ship transfers in UK waters of oil carried as cargo:

Consultation on draft Merchant Shipping (Ship-to-Ship Transfer) Regulations 2010

In an edition of the Fife Free Press on 11th March 2010 it was reported that furious Fife councillors will again be fighting the cause. At a meeting of the council’s environment, enterprise, and transport committee councillors voted to oppose the proposed regulations. They will take advice from a QC and will ask the agency for an extension to it’s six week consultation period, accusing the agency of trying to ‘sneak in new regulation by the back door’.

The draft regulations themselves make no mention of any concrete proposal to perform transfers in the Forth but Fife Councillors are clearly interpreting this as a prelude to an inevitable resurrection of plans that first surfaced in 2005. As of March 20th 2010 I’ve struggled to find any other coverage of this issue so far so I do feel that councillors are correct to request more time to consider changes to the Regulations.

Please read our full article explaining the history of the campaign against ship-to-ship oil transfers.

Seafield Environmental Group have contacted a number of interested parties and await their response… we’ll keep you updated on anything we hear from politicians and environmental bodies.

Update

On 23rd March 2010 Alan Wells from Scottish Environment LINK (who are an umbrella organisation for the environmental NGOs in Scotland) kindly replied to advise that RSPB, who had been leading the group of concerned environmental organisations, had made a formal reply to the consultation.

In summary, the reply to the consultation states that the group feel that the new regulations are mostly a good thing and should actually help to provide adequate safeguards but they do also have some requests for changes to the proposed regulations.

We now need to wait and see if the Agency will fully respond to the RSPB’s feedback.

Ship-to-ship oil transfers in the Forth

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 09:50:00 GMT

As far back as 2005 news first surfaced about plans to transfer Russian crude oil between tankers moored just off the Fife coast. These plans were roundly rejected by all the relevant local authorities and environment agencies and in Fife, East Lothian and Edinburgh local Councils formed a consortium in a successful campaign to ditch the proposals. This article provides some background on the oil transfer story.

The plan conceived by Forth Ports plc (FP), a privately-owned harbour authority, and Sunderland firm, Melbourne Marine Services (MMS) was simply to boost profits by cutting corners – to save oil companies time instead of using safe terminals such as Scapa Flow. Oil multinational, Skaugen PetroTrans (SPT) stood to make millions of pounds from the oil transfers.

The operations would have involved a fleet of small tankers shuttling up to 8 million tonnes annually of heavy crude oil annually from the Russian Baltic to massive carriers at swinging anchorage just off the Fife coast at Methil.

The Firth of Forth contains many sites and species protected under international and European law. The Bass Rock and the Isle of May, world famous for their wildlife, are only a short distance from the proposed oil transfer anchorage and ironically, had just been identified by the UK government as Marine Environment High Risk Areas (MEHRAs).

A Scottish Green Party website news article from the original campaign stated that:

“Since the Donaldson report, commissioned after the Braer disaster in Orkney in 1993, there are only three sites in the UK considered suitable for ship-to-ship transfer. The Firth of Forth isn't one of them.”

A change in the law

They called for the law to be changed so that publicly-elected and accountable ministers, rather than a private company, would have the final say on all proposals for ship-to-ship oil transfers. Because of loopholes in the law, Scottish ministers had no say over the development. Instead it was solely in the hands of Forth Ports, the harbour authority with a vested interest in the plan, to assess whether it was safe.

In February 2006, the Department for Transport launched a 12-week "public" consultation exercise (via the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, MCA), on the ship-to-ship oil plans for the Forth. But many felt it was a sham of a consultation because it wasn't about whether people agree or disagree with the activity - it was simply about whether the plans to deal with an oil spill were good enough or needed revision. Confining discussion to the 'oil spill plan' failed to address the whole basis of the oil transfer project.

A confidential environmental report drawn up for the Forth Ports was heavily criticised by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) which said that it was inaccurate and inadequate because it failed to properly assess the damage that wildlife could suffer from oil spills. These criticisms were backed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), which described the report in a leaked letter as “inappropriate”, “misleading” and “fundamentally wrong”.

The public also made their opposition well heard, with two petitions submitted to Parliament. Other objections centred around an obvious and unacceptable conflict of interest in the harbour authority (Forth Ports plc.) being both the promoter and the regulator of the such plans. In December 2007 Mark Lazarowicz, Labour MP for Edinburgh North and Leith, launched a private member's bill aimed at plugging the loophole which had enabled ship-to-ship oil transfers to escape independent scrutiny.

Bidders pull out

Early in 2008 Forth Ports eventually announced their decision to pull out of the scheme stating that:

"Given the uncertainty surrounding the scope of the proposed project, we have decided that this application is not in the best interests of the company and its shareholders," Forth Ports chief executive, Charles Hammond.

Nevertheless the company still maintained that they had demonstrated that the ship-to-ship (STS) transfers could be carried out safely.

“This assessment clearly demonstrates that, taking into account the extremely high safety stipulations which would be placed on any vessels and the extensive support operations, STS is feasible in the Firth of Forth and could be undertaken without any adverse impact on the integrity of the environment, a paramount factor in any such exercise.”

Mr Lazarowicz ultimately withdrew his Bill when in May 2008 the UK Government published draft ship-to-ship regulations. RSPB Scotland initially welcomed the publication and were pleased that it seemed to encompass the necessary environmental safeguards, including applying the European Birds and Habitats Directive to ship-to-ship oil cargo transfers.

“The continued absence of a clear legal framework has been unhelpful to all parties, the introduction of clear ship-to-ship regulations will ensure a comprehensive and workable regime and a level playing field for all interests in oil handling operations in UK waters, and will serve to protect the UK’s coasts and marine wildlife.”

Anyone interested in the full history would be well advised to read this series of articles by Rob Edwards, a freelance journalist who has been specialising in environmental issues for over 25 years, from whose writings much of this summary has been compiled.

It still remains to be seen what impact the subsequent introduction of a Marine Bill will mean for the chances of any such plan re-emerging in the future. The Marine Bill now means that there is now a duty on ministers to protect and enhance Scotland’s seas, together with duties to deliver marine planning, environmental targets and a network of marine protected areas.

March 2010 - Fife councillors criticise new oil transfer Regulations

The most recent development in this long running saga is that the Maritime and Coastguard Agency have drafted new Regulations to control ship-to-ship transfers in UK waters of oil carried as cargo:

Consultation on draft Merchant Shipping (Ship-to-Ship Transfer) Regulations 2010

In an edition of the Fife Free Press on 11th March 2010 it was reported that furious Fife councillors will again be fighting the cause. At a meeting of the council’s environment, enterprise, and transport committee councillors voted to oppose proposed these regulations and will take advice from a QC and will ask the agency for an extension to it’s six week consultation period, accusing the agency of trying to ‘sneak in new regulation by the back door’.

The new Regulations in detail

According to MCA, the most important change, is that the scope of the legislation has been refined. The 2008 Regulations applied to transfers of any hazardous substance, whereas the new draft of the Regulations applies exclusively to cargo transfers or bunkering operations consisting wholly or mainly of oil.

Another important change, proposes an arrangement whereby a harbour authority applies to the Secretary of State for an “oil transfer licence”, and – once the licence has been granted – “cargo transfers” which are within the scope of the oil transfer licence may then be authorised by the harbour authority.

The Regulations will now make a distinction between ‘consolidation and lightening operations’ which take place in many harbour authority waters and which are distinct from the ‘ship-to-ship transfers’.In the new Regulations, these operations may take place in a harbour authority irrespective of whether it has an oil transfer licence.
Transfers on government non-commercial service have always been outside the scope of regulations. These new regulations add transfers carried out by or on behalf of a general lighthouse authority.

Additionally, there are also some ‘minor drafting changes’.

Ongoing discussion

According to a Scottish Parliament bulletin on 18th March Claire Baker has asked the Scottish Executive whether it has submitted a response to the consultation on the draft Merchant Shipping (Ship-to-Ship Transfer) Regulations 2010 and, if so, whether it will publish its response. This will be addressed in parliament on Thursday 25th March (beyond the closing date of the consultation!).

Update - 8th April 2010

I have so far heard nothing from either Claire Baker nor from the Fife Councillors I tried to contact on this matter.

However, on 23rd March 2010 Alan Wells from Scottish Environment LINK (who are an umbrella organisation for the environmental NGOs in Scotland) kindly replied to advise that RSPB, who had been leading the group of concerned environmental organisations, had made a formal reply to the consultation.

We now need to wait and see if the Agency will fully respond to the RSPB’s feedback.

I also had a reply from Rob Edwards, who at that stage was not even aware of the consultation process, which is further evidence that it was not sufficiently publicised.

The ScotLINK response in detail:

On the whole the response praises the intention of the regulations:

“the revised draft regulations that are the subject of the current consultation seem to us to be greatly improved. In particular, Schedule 1 now appears to us to include adequate safeguards for European wildlife sites, with appropriate burdens of proof in the tests required to be met before consent can be given.”

Nevertheless, they also express some notable concerns:

“There still appears to be no provision for the Secretary of State to review or withdraw a licence once granted, or to attach conditions other than maximum duration. Periodic review would appear to be a sensible measure, as would the power to withdraw a licence if the Secretary of State were to see fit”

They also question the definition of whether the term “oil transfer” in the draft regulation necessarily captures the most appropriate range of hazardous bulk liquids, and that other bulk liquids such as liquefied gas should also be covered.

Fife Shoreline Management Plan finally under review

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 13:51:00 GMT

The Fife Shoreline Management Plan, which we covered in a previous article on this site is now undergoing review by Fife Council.

The Council is now required to review the Shoreline Management Plan, and funding has been made available to undertake this work in 2009 – 2011.

From the FifeDirect website:

“The project will deliver a new Shoreline Management Plan with sustainable polices to guide coastal management over the next 20, 50 and 100 years. The potential effects of climate change and sea level rise will be considered in addition to other coastal processes.

A multi-disciplinary Steering Group directs the development of the plan. The group includes representatives from Fife Council, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Fife Coast & Countryside Trust.

An initial online consultation is now underway until 5th February 2010 to gauge opinion and invite contributions from Key Stakeholders.

An Action Plan will be produced to address issues and objectives identified by the SMP.”

Exciting developments towards a Greener Kirkcaldy

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 16:52:00 GMT

Our friend and volunteer at past Seafield beach clean-ups Suzy Goodsir got in touch this week with exciting news of a new venture right here in Kirkcaldy…

Suzy wrote:

“I am writing to tell you about Greener Kirkcaldy - a new environmental community group - and our project to help people in the Kirkcaldy area to reduce their carbon footprints.

We plan to open an information centre in Kirkcaldy town centre, and to work with community groups and schools throughout the local area. This exciting new project will advise people on a range of environmental issues such as energy efficiency, greener transport options, waste reduction
and local food. It will help people to save money on their fuel bills, and encourage healthy choices and community activity. Visitors to the centre will be offered personalised advice and support, and project staff will also engage with the community via workshops, talks, events and a new website. We plan to open the centre in April 2010.

The Greener Kirkcaldy group would like to involve a wide range of other local organisations, community groups and individuals in this and other projects. We are currently recruiting for paid staff to manage and run the project - we are seeking three community workers plus a project
administrator. For more details of the jobs, please see our adverts on the Good Moves website -

http://www.goodmoves.org.uk/findajob/findajobres.asp?qs=kirkcaldy

There will also be opportunities for volunteers with a wide range of skills.

If you would like any more information about the project, or would like to get involved in any way, please get in touch! (Or see our Greener Kirkcaldy website).

Best wishes,
Suzy Goodsir
Chair, Greener Kirkcaldy”

We wish the team every success in this new endeavour and look forward to being involved to help out in any way we can.

Seafield Area to become ‘gateway to Kirkcaldy’

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:54:00 GMT

Plans have gone on display in Linktown this week to showcase how Fife Council hope to open up business and housing opportunities, and making the most of the coastal environment in the Invertiel area (immediately adjacent to Seafield Beach).

The plans so far are intended to be a framework of visions and aspirations for how the area could develop in the future.

A ‘consultation period’ began on Tuesday 1 December 2009 and will run until 29 January 2010. The public can give feedback on the plans in person at the sessions or by email at the address below.

An exhibition at the Café, West Bridge Mill, Bridge Street, Kirkcaldy will run until 29 January between 10.00am and 3.00pm. The exhibition will show a summary of the proposals set out in the Development Framework document

All comments received from the public will be assessed and reported back to the Kirkcaldy Area Committee alongside a Finalised Strategic Development Framework in the spring of 2010.

Ewen Campbell, Planner (Urban Design)
Tel: 08451 55 55 55 + Ext 48 01 66
Fax: 01592 583638
Contact Ewen Campbell online
By Post: Fife Council, Town House, 2 Wemyssfield, Kirkcaldy, KY1 1XW

website

Members of SEG were in attendance at the drop-in sessions this week and we’ll be providing our own feedback to the planners.

I was pleased to find that emphasis is being placed on acknowledging the importance of the coastal environment and orienting buildings and walkways towards the sea. The shore area is a key asset of this part of the town and I hope the planning process continues to recognise the opportunity to use it to it’s best advantage without compromising it’s rare ‘wild’ character.

Seafield to witness coal revival?

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:55:00 GMT

Extraction of coal in in Scotland may see a revival if plans for an Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) project continue, and it could even be happening in or near Seafield.

Thornton New Energy (TNE) has been granted the UK's first licence from the Coal Authority to drill into coalfields and convert the coal into a combustible gas (a technique devised by the Scottish chemist Sir William Ramsay) and then pipe it back to the surface to be burnt to create electricity and/or heat, as well as possibly some hydrogen and a form of diesel.

The granting of a licence is no guarantee that this will proposal will get final approval to go ahead, and actions at this stage will be purely a fact-finding exercise.

According to the company’s website:

“There will be a phased development that will cumulate in a zero emission power plant running on hydrogen. The intension(sic) of [the operation] is to be carbon neutral, with the CO2 being placed in long term geological storage.

The appraisal stage has begun and will last for up to three years while the geology of the mine and the CO2 Sequestration sites are studied. The timescale for the power plant will be confirmed following consultation with the local community and other interested parties.”

Pros and Cons

Thankfully, the plant that would be required is more like an oil rig than an old-fashioned coal mine, and so would be much smaller and less intrusive. According to an article in The Times the current alternatives to Oil and Gas are just not enough to keep us going and that UCG would have the following advantages:

does not endanger lives underground
does not ruin the countryside with open-cast mining work
not involve high transport and labour costs
would cost less than either mining coal or buying oil and gas from elsewhere
we would have security of supply

The main concern we would have regarding such a plant at Seafield would be

escaped gases and possibly wildlife poisoning from dissolution of any gases into seawater.
noise disturbance to seal colonies and birds during drilling works

Selections from the UCG Partnership’s FAQ page

“Strict controls are imposed on the by-products of combustion produced underground, and the operating design ensures that leakage to the surrounding strata cannot take place. Modern UCG operates in a negative pressure with respect to the adjacent strata so that outward flow from the cavity is prevented at all times.”

“The gases are hazardous (like natural gas) but pipeline construction for high pressure gases is well tested technology designed to eliminate gas escapes and providing the highest level of protection”

“The environmental impacts of a UCG process are visual and acoustic, and also include air emissions and groundwater impact. Like any geological extraction process, the geological and hydrogeological risks of UCG have to be carefully managed.

Control has advanced considerably since the early UCG trials and all UCG processes now have active control of the operational conditions in the cavity to ensure an inward flow of groundwater and to prevent gas seepage. The contaminant risk and product gas quality from potential UCG sites is fully assessed in advance and would be monitored during and after operations”

We will try to get in touch and look forward to hearing from the company with regards to the potential environmental impacts at Seafield…

And the results are in!

Sat, 04 Apr 2009 21:01:00 GMT

Litter survey data collected by participants in the latest beach clean-up reveals the continuing dominance of plastics waste.

Each year survey data is compiled in order to better understand the source of the litter found on our beaches and to assess potential environmental impacts of these materials on sea life.

As with most beach clean-up events, participants in the Seafield Beach clean-up are encouraged to take a tally of the different types of litter they find. These numbers are compiled and we present this years findings below. More importantly the results are passed on the the Marine Conservation Society so that they can be added to the database and used to help stop litter getting into the sea in the first place.

Break-down of the litter data:

In Scotland as a whole, a total of 55,041 litter items were collected on 52 beaches over a total length of 21.32 km.

On average 2,581.4 items of litter /km were found, more than the UK average (2,195/km) representing a 5.37% decrease in density levels compared to 2007.

Public litter was the main source of litter recorded on beaches surveyed in Scotland, with a density of 966.8 items/km surveyed. This is the highest density of public litter for any UK country.

The density of sewage related debris (SRD) in Scotland (509.1/km) was the highest of any country and over three times the UK average (135.9/km), representing 19.7% of all litter in Scotland.

Fishing litter was the third largest source with a density of 462.9/km followed by shipping.

Scotland recorded the highest density of shipping litter for any UK country.

Source	% Of Total Litter	Items/km 2008	Items/km 2007	Items/km 2006	Items/km 2005	UK Average Items/km 2008
Public	37.5	966.8	810.0	621.1	622.2	827.3
Fishing	7.9	203.2	264.3	148.2	152.6	302.8
SRD	19.7	509.1	708.8	694.5	411.9	135.9
Shipping	1.6	40.5	53.3	50.3	41.4	39.1
Total		2,581.4	2,727.8	2,091.7	1,747.6	2,195

A plastic bag free Fife?

Sun, 08 Mar 2009 20:00:00 GMT

We noticed recently that Friends of the Earth Fife are promoting their ‘Fife Plastic Bag Campaign’.

The group is currently working with shop-keepers and other community groups to rid Kinghorn and Burntisland of plastic bags in 2009. Use of plastic bags almost inevitably leads to unsightly and dangerous litter which can also harm wildlife. Additionally the manufacture of bags causes pollution. In Fife we have the power to change all this - by refusing to accept plastic bags when shopping.

If you agree, then please head over to sign the petition and register your support for a plastic bag ban in the towns, and to show your support for shops that choose to ban the bag. You can find out more about the campaign on the Friends of the Earth Fife website.

Also, tell as many people as you can about the plan to make Kinghorn and Burntisland plastic bag free in 2009.

Did you know that the first place in Scotland to start a ‘plastic bag free’ campaign was the town of Selkirk in the Scottish Borders. On 4th April 2008, Selkirk became Scotland's first plastic bag free town. Why not let’s show that Fife can do the same?

What happens to marine plastics?

Sun, 08 Mar 2009 13:02:00 GMT

Captain Charles Moore of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation first discovered the ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’ – an endless floating waste of plastic rubbish. In this fantastic video he draws attention to the growing, choking problem of plastic debris in our seas.

Charles Moore is founder of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation. He captains the foundation's research vessel, the Alguita, documenting the great expanses of plastic waste that now litter our oceans.

A yachting competition across the Pacific first led veteran seafarer Charles Moore to what some have since deemed the world's largest "landfill" -- actually a huge soup of floating plastic rubbish the size of the state of Texas (twice over). Trapped in an enormous slow whirlpool called the Pacific Gyre, this Great Pacific Garbage Patch in some places outweighs even the surface waters' biomass six-to-one.

Moore said after his return voyage, "There were shampoo caps and soap bottles and plastic bags and fishing floats as far as I could see. Here I was in the middle of the ocean, and there was nowhere I could go to avoid the plastic."

Since his discovery, Moore has been analyzing the giant litter patch and its disastrous effects on ocean life. Through the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, he hopes to raise awareness about the problem and find ways to restrict its growth. He's now leading several expeditions to sample plastic fragments across thousands of miles of the Pacific.

Pride in our Coastline

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:58:00 GMT

Have pride in our coastline – make the pledge to help Fife's beaches.

Fife Council are calling on everyone to have some pride in our coastline and help to make it even more beautiful.

To do this fife folk are asked to pledge to not drop litter and pledge to pick up a piece of litter every time you visit the beach and dispose of it correctly - the more people who sign up the bigger difference we can make.

Head over now to the FifeDirect website where you’ll find an online form to help you make your pledge to help everyone enjoy Fife's beaches to their full potential.

For further information on the pledge scheme, contact Robbie Blyth, Fife Coast and Beaches Officer, Fife Council, Bankhead House, 211 Tantallon Avenue, Glenrothes, KY7 4QA, 08451 55 55 55 + Ext 44 49 81.

In Memory of Drew

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:34:00 GMT

Since the loss of it’s previous chairman Drew Prentice in March 2008, Seafield Environmental Group will be sure to remember Drew’s commitment to Seafield Beach and the birds and wildlife that inhabit it.

Everyone who takes part in clean-ups at Seafield Beach are making a gesture to show how much they care about their area and how much they want to improve the local environment for the benefit of the wider community. This was something that was close to Drew’s heart and the Group will continue to organise clean-ups in fond memory of Drew.

Eddie McHutchison of Fife Coast & Countryside Trust was quoted in The Fife Free Press explaining why Drew will be so greatly missed:

“Drew was one of a kind - cheery, outgoing and always ready to help. His knowledge of birds and wildlife was encyclopaedic and his commitment to Seafield was legendary.”

“Drew also had a talent for sketching and spent many hours drawing the Seafield seals, over time becoming intimately aware of their comings and goings. So much so that he soon had a name for all the regulars!”

“While observant, Drew didn't just watch - he was an active campaigner against the ship-to-ship oil transfer, a key member of the Seafield Environmental Group and a regular volunteer with Fife Coast & Countryside Trust’s Clean Team. He was well known and valued by many who care about their environment.”