In July, an online celebration event was held by MCS. It included short presentations from some of the key people from MCS and it was good to put faces to names.
The updates were mainly on the subject of beach cleaning and some of the findings from different parts of the country.
Here is a brief summary from MCS data:
Overall, there has been a 15% decrease in litter found on UK beach cleans since 2014
Single use plastic still represents 87% of litter.
Overseas litter (from Canada and USA mainly) includes fish tags
Food packaging is heavily represented in litter found in Europe and Ireland
Interesting items of litter found around the country included:
A lobster tag from Antigua
Brodick beach on the Isle of Arran produced a sign for the Giants Causeway.
Retro finds in Merseyside included packaging at least 15 years old and a crisp packet which was thought to be at least 30 years old.
For anyone interested, more information is available through the beach clean survey reports on the Marine Conservation Society Website.
I look forward to seeing some of you at our next beach clean on September 27th 2026. This event will be part of the Great British Beach Clean, bringing together data from around the country…
Kathy McAdam. Beach clean organiser. Lancashire MCS group
Posted: September 13th, 2026
Posted in Beach Clean
Our summer beach clean collected 1.79kg of rubbish from the beach itself, largely small plastic fragments. the collection data has been submitted to National MCS. In addition members of the Scouts also cleaned the car park area, and a section of the foreshore behind the beach itself, areas which yielded very considerable amounts of rubbish, most left by visitors to the beach.
The beach clean was run in conjunction with the local Soroptomists group, and supported by staff from Lancaster’s Williamson Park, and 53rd Lancaster Scouts.
Thank you to everyone who participated – our next beach clean will be in September, subscribe to our Newsletter list to get details emailed to you…
On 8th July 2026, meet at Half Moon Bay Cafe car park at 19:00 – we can provide litter pickers, but please bring a tough pair of gloves to protect your hands. Children are welcome, but must be accompanied by a responsible adult!
Above: A photo of our beach clean in March this year – hopefully the weather will be better in July (but no guarantees – dress appropriately!)
Date: Wednesday 8th July 2026 Time: 19:00 Location: Half Moon Bay Café Car Park Everybody Welcome!
Above from left: Christian Thompson, Ellis Barton, Austin Kitching and Jess Norris, who will be presenting their research.
Ellis Barton: Evaluating the effects of dissolved organic carbon enrichment on scleractinian coral physiology.
Austin Kitching: Evaluating the effectiveness of bioremediation techniques in regulating the nutrient levels in the Main Lake, Williamson Park, Lancaster.
Jess Norris: The distribution of elasmobranch egg cases at five beaches on the Fylde Coast during the height of the spawning season.
Christian Thompson: Ecology and Habitat Use of the Velvet Crab (Necora puber): A Survey Across Intertidal Coastal Sites of the Fylde Coast.
Date: Wednesday 10th June 2026 Time: 19:30 to 21:00 Location: Lancaster Maritime Museum £4 donation to Lancashire MCS requested Everybody Welcome
The North West Marine Ecosystems (NWME) Conference 2026 will be held at the University of Liverpool on 24th June. (Registration closes 17th June 2026). Use the QR code above to register, or follow the link below:
Extinctions, Isotopes and Us. A journey through time to the present.
After coming across references to the ‘Anthropocene’ in several sources Lewis decided that he needed to know more about it. Who coined the term? Why did they think it was needed? When did it start? This talk is an attempt to start to answer those questions and some of the many more that follow on from them.
Date: Wednesday 13th May 2026 Time: 19:30 to 21:00 Location: Lancaster Maritime Museum £4 donation to Lancashire MCS requested Everybody Welcome
Human muscle powered galleys were the pinnacle of sea power for most of human history. They were able to cross the Mediterranean in a matter of days, bringing news and transporting soldiers and precious cargoes. They had the decisive advantage over sailing ships in combat, as they could manoeuvre independently of the wind’s direction. This advantage was lost with the introduction of ship mounted artillery, the increased importance of Atlantic trade, and the development of the galleon…
Please note: This talk will be preceded by a short AGM for the group.
Date: Wednesday 8th April 2026 Time: 19:30 to 21:00 Location: Lancaster Maritime Museum £4 donation to Lancashire MCS requested Everybody Welcome
Above: Some plankton of the Irish sea – see how many you can identify! (Note the photos are not to the same scale). Photos BK from Knott End.
Most of the Irish sea is vertically mixed by waves and currents throughout the year, and has relatively little contact with the Atlantic. In addition, the waters in the Eastern Irish Sea, that lap our NW coastline, have been subject to massive human inputs, from industry, agriculture and major population centres. These factors have resulted in the development of a distinctly local flavour to the plankton population. This talk will attempt to show how plankton populations vary across the area in response to local conditions, using literature sources, and illustrated by our work at Knott End in the Wyre Estuary.
Date: Wednesday 11th March 2026 Time: 19:30 to 21:00 Location: Lancaster Maritime Museum £4 donation to Lancashire MCS requested Everybody Welcome
Our Christmas beach clean (like a beach clean, but usually with worse weather;-) will be on the 6th December at 14:00. Meet as usual at the Half Moon Bay Cafe car park.
This is followed by our Christmas quiz at the Maritime Museum on Wednesday 10th December.
Our annual brain-teaser returns to run a census on the old grey cells before the festive season takes its toll…
MCS Christmas Quiz at Lancaster Maritime Museum on Wednesday 10th December at 19:30 £4 donation to Lancashire MCS requested Everybody Welcome!
