3 ways to get involved in conservation around Edinburgh

The Ocean Advocates Team loves bringing our members closer to local conservation efforts through fundraising, events, and campaigns. But we also like to encourage everyone to get involved in these organisations in their own time! There are so many causes that are accessible in Edinburgh and we want to provide a selection of some to get everyone involved in the new year.

1. North Berwick Seabird Centre Opportunities

As you know, we’ve worked with the Seabird Centre to host wildlife walks and we are happy to support and promote their volunteer activities. Here are a few to look into if you are interested in a trip to North Berwick!

The SOS Puffin Project is a chance to get outside and work to preserve the environments of puffins on the island of Craigleith. This is a great opportunity to learn first-hand about invasive species and conservation. Please check out the linked website for more information and email Emily Burton at conservationprojects@seabird.org to sign up.

Or, Volunteer with the Seabird Center on a variety of projects including fundraising, education, and conservation. See their volunteer handbook for more information and reach out to info@seabird.org to register.

2. Marine Conservation Society UK

The UK-wide Marine Conservation Society has supported our own society-led beach cleans and they also provide great resources on volunteering for finding public beach cleans in your local area.

Their volunteer page has information on an array of opportunities, from practical environmental surveys to delivering educational sessions in schools. You can register to volunteer with the MCS here or get in touch with them about individual projects on their website.

If you want to get outside and work on cleaning up our shores, just check out their website here where you can enter your location and find any number of beach cleans you can join in on! Or, you can register your own beach clean and advertise it on their page to get more people involved.

3. The Great Nurdle Hunt

Speaking of beach cleans, if you’ve attended one of ours you may have heard us talk about finding nurdles on the beach. Nurdles are small pellets of industrial plastic that get lost in our seas during transportation and production. Because of their small size, nurdles are easily mistaken for food by marine life and can not be easily removed from oceans. Based in East Lothian, this charity encourages everyone to get out and collect nurdles on the beach wherever you are. By collecting nurdles and sharing your data with The Great Nurdle Hunt you can help gather information to help end industrial plastic pollution. Check out their website here for more information and our last blog post for more details on nurdles!

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We hope this short list helped! Be sure to attend our beach cleans throughout the academic year!