Strandliners

07/04/2026

We'll be testing the waterways at Polegate this Thursday 9th April. This is the start of the 2026 community water testing sessions.
Come along and see what we do!

These sessions are part of the Blue Heart project, with community water testing groups at Hampden Park, Polegate, Eastbourne allotments and Pevensey and Westham Community Forest Garden.

We'll analyse for ammonia and phosphates and compare with previous results as well as other sites in the area. And we'll see what wildlife we can identify as well, as wildlife is also a good indicator of water health.

If you're interested and cannot get to this event look out for others in the coming months. More information at Strandliners.org

03/04/2026

We'll be testing the waterways at the allotments. This is the start of the 2026 community water testing sessions.

Come along and see what we do!

These sessions are part of the project, with community water testing groups at Hampden Park, Polegate, Eastbourne allotments and Pevensey and Westham Community Forest Garden.
We'll analyse for ammonia and phosphates and compare with previous results as well as other sites in the area. And we'll see what wildlife we can identify as well, as wildlife is also a good indicator of water health.
If you're interested and cannot get to this event look out for others in the coming months. More information at Strandliners.org

23/03/2026

Our second session at the Decoy Pond, Hampden Park for the 2026 community water testing sessions.
Come along and see what we do!
Meeting in front of the Tea Chalet.

We have the equipment and will be able to support a group to be the Hampden Park hub. It doesn't need much time or effort to check the health of local waterways. And we get the results in minutes!

These sessions are part of the project, with community water testing groups at Hampden Park, Polegate, Eastbourne allotments and Pevensey and Westham Community Forest Garden.
We'll analyse for ammonia and phosphates and compare with previous results as well as other sites in the area. And we'll see what wildlife we can identify as well, as wildlife is a good indicator of water health.
If you're interested and cannot get to this event look out for others between February and April. More information at Strandliners.org

23/02/2026

If Southern Water knew of their accident and the microplastic pollution:
Why didn't they do anything about it? They didn't admit it for days.
Were they doing what they've done in the past – ignoring it and hoping no-one would connect it with them? Were they hoping it would simply go away?

In theory, Southern Water would have known for more than 15 years that bio-beads can escape in their millions from similar wastewater treatment works. The 2010 South West Water accident in Truro caused nearly 5 billion bio-beads to escape and pollute estuaries and beaches all along the English Channel and beyond.

The amazing volunteers who surveyed and recorded biobeads for years before this incident are the ones who apparently got in Southern Water's way. They are the ones who stood up to Southern Water's apparent policy of environmental ignorance.

If we are to stand a chance of a better world, communities everywhere need to go further than clearing up other people's litter.
First, we need to know what the pollution is.
Then, we need to record the pollution.
Data is evidence for change.

Our response to the article in the , link in comments...

21/02/2026

Let's discover how healthy the water is at the Decoy Pond. This is the start of the 2026 community water testing sessions.

These sessions are part of the project, with community water testing groups at Hampden Park, Polegate, Eastbourne allotments and Pevensey and Westham Community Forest Garden.

We'll analyse for ammonia and phosphates and compare with previous results as well as other sites in the area. And we'll see what wildlife we can identify as well, as wildlife is a good indicator of water health.

If you're interested and cannot get to this event look out for others between February and April. More information at https://strandliners.org/community-river-watch-eastbourne-pevensey-levels/

12/02/2026

Fantastic opportunities for

Strandliners and Sussex Underwater are teaming up to deliver a series of funded, beach-based learning sessions for Year 5 pupils from Hastings schools.

Thank you to the High Weald National Landscape and their High Weald Nature and Community Fund support.

Article in comments...

27/01/2026

Old container spill items polluting our coastline, still being found today (Jan 2026). Our plastic legacy.

Nestle tea capsules from a 2014 container spill in the English Channel.
Zeller lids from a 1995 container spill in the English Channel.
Nestle baby formula spoons possibly from a container spill in the English Channel.
Still in our coastline habitat.

The recent container spills off Hampshire, Sussex and Kent quickly galvanised the spirit of community groups and much has been bagged and binned. A fantastic response, but how much is still out there?

For how many years will we be picking these familiar items up from our coastline?

Is this the shape of things to come? Our blog on container spills is here: https://strandliners.org/2026/01/26/is-this-the-shape-of-things-to-come/

14/01/2026

As we all know by now, there have been multiple shipping containers lost from ships in the English Channel. 16 from the Baltic Kipper lost on 6th Dec, 17 from the Lombok Strait and 7 from the Condor Valparaiso lost on 8th January.

After the first wave of bananas, avocados and insulating foam in December there are now apples, onions, net bags, tins of milk powder, cups, lids and more insulating foam and more. All washing up on the Sussex coastline.

The most important response at this moment has been the amazing calls to action from community groups along West and East Sussex. So many people have got down to their local beach with bags and 'picked and bagged' everything along the strandline.

There have been calls for the public to not touch the debris and that local authorities will clear up, but time is of the essence, everything along the strandline will disperse over the following increasingly higher tides. And of course more will be washing in over the next days.

Photo: Matt Silvaire

13/01/2026

So many more questions...
https://www.ryenews.org.uk/opinions/so-many-more-questions

08/01/2026

If you haven't signed the petition yet, the closing date is 12th January.

Please sign the petition here to and stop this catastrophe from happening ever again: https://www.helenadollimore.com/binthebeads

In this modern day technology how can we have systems that use billions and billions of small toxic plastic beads that can escape into the environment. It needs to stop.

This spill was not the first by a water company (2010 first reported bio-bead spill). Southern Water must have known this was a possibility and yet
THEY DIDN'T EVEN CONSIDER THIS COULD HAPPEN IN THEIR POLLUTION INCIDENT REDUCTION PLAN. And they still have not updated it!https://www.southernwater.co.uk/media/ckklxzo5/southern_water_pirp_2025_final.pdf

Sussex Wildlife Trust and Helena Dollimore MP are calling for the water companies to bin the beads.

08/01/2026

Does anyone recognise this elephant?

Whilst many people may have been part of the consumer thing over the last month or so, we made it out to the Dungeness beach for a survey. Thank you to everyone who took time out and give to the planet. Here are a few photos and the survey results below.

We identified and recorded over 1,300 items in our regular 100-metre survey, weighing 27.77 kg (if you don’t count the 150 kg conveyor belt which we could not remove). 90% of the total was plastic and the main sources public, fishing and shipping.

This survey adds to the 30+ years of data the Marine Conservation Society have been collecting and is invaluable for lobbying for change.

31/12/2025