Briggs welcomes Oatridge students’ beach cleaning initiative.
Lothian Tory MSP Miles Briggs is welcoming the new partnership between animal care students at West Lothian’s Oatridge College and the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) which has seen them adopt a stretch of the local beach at Blackness. Miles has tabled a Parliamentary motion commending the initiative.
Speaking today Miles, who last year joined pupils at Cramond Primary School and the MCS for a beach clean at Cramond beach said:
“I commend Oatridge students for their very welcome initiative in adopting a section of local beach and hope that it will inspire many other local groups to get involved with the good work of the MCS in this region.
“The fact that the students collected 25kg of rubbish on a stretch of beach only 100 metres long demonstrates just how much waste is washed up on our beaches, something that is very damaging to marine wildlife.”
The full text of Miles' motion is below
Motion Number: S5M-03811
Lodged By: Miles Briggs
Date Lodged: 01/02/2017
Title: Oatridge Students Join MCS Beachwatch Programme
Motion Text:
That the Parliament welcomes the news that a group of animal care students from the Scottish Rural College's Oatridge campus in West Lothian have adopted a stretch of local beach at Blackness as part of the Marine Conservation Society’s (MCS) national Beachwatch programme; notes that, in their first clean, the students collected six bin bags of waste weighing 25kg in a 100-metre stretch of beach, including 232 wet wipes and 386 sanitary items, which are considered key pollutants for marine wildlife; commends the work of the MCS in working with local communities and groups to clear marine litter and improve the cleanliness of beaches all round Scotland’s coastline, and hopes that the students’ welcome and positive initiative will encourage other groups and individuals to support and become involved in the Beachwatch programme.
