Day at the beach cleanses the soul and the sand

Scotland Excel held its first ever beach clean in Irvine, with ten members of staff picking up around 30 bags stuffed with everything from plastic, glass, BBQs and socks to a garden gnome.

Organised by May MacRitchie, the plucky gang headed to the Clyde coast on Tuesday 6 June after the idea was discussed at the Scotland Excel Employee Forum.

May said: “It was a great day that everyone really enjoyed and got behind. The main aim was to clean the beach, but it was also a day for staff who may not usually work together to get acquainted, and we were also able to come up with some good ideas that can be taken back to local authorities and suppliers.

“We were asked by several people who we were, what we were doing and why? They were very grateful and impressed that Scotland Excel supported staff to do this. Although Michael did tell a few people he was our parole officer, so maybe next time we need something with our logo on it!”

The beach clean was organised in conjunction with volunteer group, Irvine Clean Up Crew who supplied the team with all the necessary equipment and guidance. The group spent the morning cleaning the beach and the afternoon concentrating on sprucing up the nearby children’s park.

Between the two areas, the group found more than 100 vapes of different styles. These were collected separately so they could be recycled.

It wasn’t all green fingered hard work. The gang had a well-deserved picnic with May and Jamie braving the Clyde Riviera temperatures for some cold-water therapy – apparently no photos were taken of this, so we’ll just have to trust them!

If you’re interested in getting involved with a beach clean or any other SEEF activity, or you have an idea that you’d like to put to the team, speak with your representative or drop SEEF an email