Strandliners

We'll be testing the waterways at Polegate this Thursday 9th April. This is the start of the 2026 community water testing sessions.
Come along and see what we do!

These sessions are part of the Blue Heart project, with community water testing groups at Hampden Park, Polegate, Eastbourne allotments and Pevensey and Westham Community Forest Garden.

We'll analyse for ammonia and phosphates and compare with previous results as well as other sites in the area. And we'll see what wildlife we can identify as well, as wildlife is also a good indicator of water health.

If you're interested and cannot get to this event look out for others in the coming months. More information at Strandliners.org

Our second session at the Decoy Pond, Hampden Park for the 2026 community water testing sessions.
Come along and see what we do!
Meeting in front of the Tea Chalet.

We have the equipment and will be able to support a group to be the Hampden Park hub. It doesn't need much time or effort to check the health of local waterways. And we get the results in minutes!

These sessions are part of the project, with community water testing groups at Hampden Park, Polegate, Eastbourne allotments and Pevensey and Westham Community Forest Garden.
We'll analyse for ammonia and phosphates and compare with previous results as well as other sites in the area. And we'll see what wildlife we can identify as well, as wildlife is a good indicator of water health.
If you're interested and cannot get to this event look out for others between February and April. More information at Strandliners.org

Let's discover how healthy the water is at the Decoy Pond. This is the start of the 2026 community water testing sessions.

These sessions are part of the project, with community water testing groups at Hampden Park, Polegate, Eastbourne allotments and Pevensey and Westham Community Forest Garden.

We'll analyse for ammonia and phosphates and compare with previous results as well as other sites in the area. And we'll see what wildlife we can identify as well, as wildlife is a good indicator of water health.

If you're interested and cannot get to this event look out for others between February and April. More information at https://strandliners.org/community-river-watch-eastbourne-pevensey-levels/

Old container spill items polluting our coastline, still being found today (Jan 2026). Our plastic legacy.

Nestle tea capsules from a 2014 container spill in the English Channel.
Zeller lids from a 1995 container spill in the English Channel.
Nestle baby formula spoons possibly from a container spill in the English Channel.
Still in our coastline habitat.

The recent container spills off Hampshire, Sussex and Kent quickly galvanised the spirit of community groups and much has been bagged and binned. A fantastic response, but how much is still out there?

For how many years will we be picking these familiar items up from our coastline?

Is this the shape of things to come? Our blog on container spills is here: https://strandliners.org/2026/01/26/is-this-the-shape-of-things-to-come/

As we all know by now, there have been multiple shipping containers lost from ships in the English Channel. 16 from the Baltic Kipper lost on 6th Dec, 17 from the Lombok Strait and 7 from the Condor Valparaiso lost on 8th January.

After the first wave of bananas, avocados and insulating foam in December there are now apples, onions, net bags, tins of milk powder, cups, lids and more insulating foam and more. All washing up on the Sussex coastline.

The most important response at this moment has been the amazing calls to action from community groups along West and East Sussex. So many people have got down to their local beach with bags and 'picked and bagged' everything along the strandline.

There have been calls for the public to not touch the debris and that local authorities will clear up, but time is of the essence, everything along the strandline will disperse over the following increasingly higher tides. And of course more will be washing in over the next days.

Photo: Matt Silvaire