Physiotherapy clinic takes to Hayling Island to clean up the beach
A TEAM has pulled together to do their bit to tackle plastic pollution.
The team from Physio-logical, a physiotherapy clinic based in Rowlands Castle, came together on Saturday, September 17 to clean up the beach on Hayling Island.
From 11am onwards the team of 8, which was made up of both clinic staff, friends, family and patients, took to the beachfront on Hayling Island with their litter pickers and bin bags at the ready.
After 2 hours of cleaning, they collected a total of 7 bags of rubbish, including items such as Stanley knife, lots of glass, blue plastic straws, an abundance of rope, fishing line and Dominos pizza box!
It is part of the clinic’s efforts to become more eco-friendly, with this being the second beach clean they have organised.
The beach cleans began off the back of its Facebook group, Challenge 30, which founder and physiotherapist Natalie March set up during lockdown to keep morale up and to keep patients active.
Members of the group had to complete a bingo card of activities to do, including sunrise and sunset walks, litter picking and local walking routes.
Natalie said: ‘We found that the monthly challenges brought people together, so we wanted to put something in place that allowed people to meet face-to-face when lockdown restrictions eased, which is why we did the first beach clean. It was such a success that we decided to make it an annual tradition, to bring people together but also to look after the local beaches and the environment as a whole.’
Natalie is encouraging more people to take part in their own beach cleans when possible to keep the shorelines clean and avoid plastic and other rubbish from polluting the sea.
She said: ‘We’re doing a lot in-house to become more environmentally friendly, with simple changes such as switching from paper diaries and notes to digital ones. Climate change is getting worse and we all need to do our bit to try and help. Whether it’s picking up some rubbish when you’re next going for a walk along the seafront or getting a team together and litter-picking in a local park, every little thing makes a difference.’
