Environmentalists go naked to strip Brighton beach of rubbish

On Sunday 18 September, Brighton environmentalists are invited to take off their clothes and join a naked beach clean-up campaign.

Strip The Beach, organised by the World Cetacean Alliance, aims to strip the beach of rubbish, and get into the record books. Organisers intend to bring together a Guinness World Record number of naked people for the event.

Beach clean-ups are conducted around the world with the aim of removing man-made debris from the coastline and recycling or disposing of the collected waste accordingly. Brighton has the UK’s only “Green” constituency and is located within the Brighton and Lewes Downs UNESCO Biosphere Region.

However, following council funding cuts for street and beach cleaning, marine litter and derelict fishing equipment continues to wash up and remain on our shores.

Organisers of the naked beach clean aim to raise awareness of the problem of marine plastics, sea litter and discarded fishing equipment (“ghost nets”). Strip The Beach will take place on Brighton’s historic Black Rock naturist beach (Black Rock Station, Madeira Dr, Brighton, BN2 1FY). This is a less populated stretch of Brighton’s seafront, and an area where more flotsam and jetsam accumulates due to prevailing currents and the presence of Brighton Marina.

Russell Arnott, event organiser and Outreach Officer at WhaleFest: Incredible Oceans, says, “At present, 8 million tons of plastic is added to our oceans every year. I can’t even begin to imagine what that much plastic looks like; the number is too big for the human mind to get a handle on.

Plastic can take hundreds of years to break down naturally so in the meantime it continues to wash up on beaches all over the world harming wildlife and damaging the food chain. We are hoping that this event will capture people’s imaginations and raise awareness of issues surrounding ocean plastic”.

The event is happening in conjunction with the Marine Conservation Society’s Great British Beach Clean weekend (16 to 19 September – www.mcsuk.org/beachwatch/greatbritishbeachclean), and is supported by WhaleFest, Incredible Oceans, Brighton Naked Bike Ride and Brighton and Hove City Council.

Organisers aim to connect with other local and national marine organisations and charities, bringing them together for a common cause.

Participation is free, and will take place whatever the weather.

Note also that the event is BARE AS YOU DARE but if you’re not naked, you can’t be counted in the World Record!

Strip The Beach
Sunday 18 September
12 noon – 4pm
Meet at Black Rock Station car park, Madeira Dr, Brighton, BN2 1FY
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