Budleigh’s ‘Green Army’ has carried out its latest mission.

The Budleigh Lions, St Peter's School, the Town Council and the Marine Conservation Society joined forces to organise a community beach clean.

Their ambitious environmental project took place on September 25 to coincide with the Great British Clean Up, an annual event organised by the MSC.

The Lions, school, town council and MSc have previously worked in unison to clean up the town.

In June this year they carried out a beach and green clean led by a team of St Peter’s pupils called the Eco Champions.

The Great British Beach Clean is a week-long citizen science event throughout the UK.
All of those taking part are asked by the charity to run a ‘litter survey’ and record all of the items of rubbish they find in a 100m stretch. The MSC then uses that data to campaign for change.
Its findings have, in the past, led to the introduction of the plastic bag charge, a ban on microplastics in personal care products and better wet wipe labelling.
Last year 435 items of litter were found per 100m of beach surveyed and 30 percent of the beach cleans found face masks and PPE.
Richard Allen, President of Budleigh Lions Club, said the local event was a huge success and praised those who took part.

He added: “We are always keen to support these types of initiatives. The environment is one of our five global causes and by carrying out regular litter picking and beach cleans we can help to reduce the amount of plastic and other waste materials in our oceans and in our local environment.”

St Peter's School Eco Leader, Jemima Moore, said: “The school's Eco-Champions have been engaged in a number of initiatives to make our school and community more eco friendly over recent years. St Peter's was the first school in Devon to declare a climate emergency and has achieved Surfer's Against Sewage's 'Plastic Free Status.

“It has been wonderful to work collaboratively and I hope that we will be able to continue this community approach to looking after our environment.”