West Sussex Beach Wardens

Life’s a beach when you work in Corporate Strategy – on this day at least.

A team from the department ventured down to the seafront at Ferring to take part in a beach clean and flower survey.

The idea came from a BIM action which highlighted the worth of holding a volunteering day.

So, armed with protective gloves and plastic bags, they joined Anna Carter, Michelle Harbord and Sue Palmer from the West Sussex Beach Wardens to survey the beach for wildlife and remove any unwanted debris.

Competition Manager Dylan Freeman, who organised the session, said: “I thought it would be a good idea for us to link up with the beach wardens to do a beach clean.

“We wanted to have a bit more of an educational volunteer day and it certainly was that.”

Anna Carter, Southern Water Hub Analyst and Chair of the Beach Wardens group, said: “Corporate Strategy were very keen and cleaned an impressive amount of coastline, it is an area not cleaned by the council so volunteer work is indispensable. In the afternoon we explored the area’s coastal environment – shingle plants, intertidal zone and mudflats along the Ferring Rife- some of the group were lucky enough to see a snipe (a wading bird classified as amber critical by the RSPB).”

The West Sussex Beach Wardens was set up in 2004 and has been sponsored by Southern Water for the past three years.

The group’s 65 trained beach wardens work throughout the year to keep the beaches clean along 44 miles of coastline and conduct surveys of the wide variety of plants and wildlife that flourish there.