Sefton Council mark World Ocean Day with stark reminder of the impact of litter

The United Nations mark World Oceans Day on Thursday 8th June, with a virtual celebration of the wonder of the seas and how they support humanity and the natural world.

Here in Sefton, John Dempsey from the Council’s Green Sefton Service, offers insight into how we treat our 22 miles of coastline directly impacts the lives of our wildlife and condition of our seas.

A note from John for World Oceans Day
The oceans cover over 70 per cent of the planet and provide 50 per cent of our oxygen, and we all have a responsibility to look after them as best we can.

Most of our biodiversity lurks below, on or above the waves.

It is one of the reasons why Green Sefton works closely with our great community groups, volunteers, ambassadors, landowners, conservation groups and emergency services to keep our coastline as clean as possible.

The reptiles, amphibians, birds, wild flowers, mammals and invertebrates that can be found along the Sefton coast can all be destroyed by pollution.

Even if the spectacular biodiversity we can enjoy on our doorstep doesn’t interest you, managing pollution, whether it be plastics or balloon releases, should be common sense to all – plastics once broken-down end up in our food chain.

So, the litter we as a species dump, we as a species end up eating.

If that’s not a good enough reason to behave responsibly and dispose of litter properly, I don’t know what is.

We are lucky to live so close to such a long stretch of coastline, especially one with such specialised diversity, from the rarest of plants to unusual insects, including the Sandhill Rustic, a stunning moth that spends most of its life under the sand, emerging for a few short nights in August, and Armadilidium album, a remarkable species of woodlouse that occurs along just a handful of coastlines and is adapted to living on and amongst tidal debris. Huge Atlantic Grey Seals bob about in the shallows over summer. Migrating and nesting birds take advantage of the coast too, from the smallest wader to the biggest gull.

Get involved
To watch the United Nation’s World Ocean Day 2023 live stream, people can head to: https://unworldoceansday.org/

And for those looking to learn more about Sefton’s natural landscapes, we encourage people to explore the educational resources available on the Southport Eco Centre website: www.southportecocentre.com/resources