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Never underestimate the great experience of a beach clean. This wonderful family activity opens up a fascinating world of marine life, all while you’re doing your bit
for the planet.
Choose your location! Find a beach that has good access and shoreline to wander. Some beaches offer beach cleaning stations armed with the equipment you need. If not, don’t forget to take your own bags and grabbers.
Pick a time: The best time to head out is when the tide is going out. As the waves pull back across the sand, they leave rubbish and wildlife behind. Walk along this strandline and have a browse.
When you find rubbish: Some items of rubbish could be sharp or dangerous, so only collect rubbish with a grabber. Ask a friend or family member to help out by holding the bag open while you drop the rubbish in using your grabber. You can swap over and take it in turns. Remember, rubbish can range from rope and nets to plastic bottles and microplastic (pictured). Always wash your hands once you’re finished. Have fun (no matter the weather)!
Join the Great Nurdle Hunt!
Nurdles are small plastic pellets about the size of a lentil. They are used to make nearly all our plastic products, but sadly, billions end up in our oceans and shores. Due to their size, they can be eaten by animals, so scientists are becoming increasingly concerned about their effect on marine life. Please report any nurdle sightings to nurdlehunt.org.uk to help scientists show how plastics are polluting our shores. You can also sign their petition asking plastic-making companies to help tackle and clean up nurdle pollution in our seas.
We challenged you to go on a beach clean with your friends and family. Wow, how awesome you all are! Thanks to you, buckets and bags and sacks full of rubbish have been collected. We are so proud of you all! There were some interesting finds too. Take a look at the winners and their findings here.
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Somewhere beneath a grassy field right now, a tiny insect is building an underground loudspeaker. Male mole crickets engineer horn-shaped burrows that amplify their calls hundreds of metres into the night air – and your child can recreate the same science at home using nothing but cardboard and a phone. This hands-on experiment explores sound, shape and natural engineering in a way that is genuinely surprising. No screens, no special equipment, just a brilliant idea borrowed from nature.
Our Risky Moment competition invited young explorers to capture a risky moment in the wild – a split second when animals must make bold choices to survive. From daring leaps across rocky cliffs to dangerous river crossings, we received many hair-raising entries showing just how adventurous life in nature can be.
A huge thank you to everyone who entered our Winter Explorer competition. You proved that winter is not ‘empty’ at all – it’s full of clues, if you know how to look.
