Joining forces in Poole for Big Baiter Beach Clean Up

Pupils and staff from St Edward’s School joined staff from marine electronic specialists, Actisense, along with staff and volunteers from Poole-based charity, SEA LIFE Trust, for a clean-up of the beach in Baiter Park. Although the weather was extremely cold and grey, the group were undeterred. In the two-hour litter-picking session, they collected a massive 35 kilograms of rubbish. Along with the usual empty crisp packets, water bottles and drink cans, the group also picked up single-use plastic drink-carrying holders – often responsible for marine birds getting their heads stuck – traffic cones and a baseball bat.

Phil Whitehurst, CEO of Actisense, said, “Although the conditions weren’t brilliant, it didn’t put anyone one off. The students from St Edward’s School remained positive and enthusiastic throughout and there was a great community spirit as we all worked together to help reduce our impact on the oceans. Because of the nature of our work, protecting the environment, especially our beautiful coastal waters, is an issue that we at Actisense are totally committed to.”

Actisense has formed close links with St Edward’s, supporting the school and mentoring students, encouraging them to consider a career in STEM and explaining the opportunities available to them.

Michael Antram, head teacher of St Edward’s, said, “We greatly value our relationship with Actisense and our students were very keen to work alongside them to help clean up our beautiful beach. The amount of rubbish they found was a real eye-opener for them and an issue I am sure they will discuss with their friends and families, raising even greater awareness of the damage thoughtless littering does to our planet.”

The SEA LIFE Trust, a registered charity working globally to protect the world’s oceans and the marine life that lies within them, organised the Big Baiter Clean Up and fundraiser Beccy Briley, added, “The beach clean-ups are a very tangible demonstration of the rubbish and plastic problem. It’s always shocking for litter-pickers to see how much gets collected in just a couple of hours. It was so good to have the involvement of the pupils from St Edward’s School. After all, they, and their peers, are the future caretakers of this beautiful planet of ours.”